Johnny Beecher surprised some folks last year by winning a job out of Bruins’ training camp. This year, more was expected out of 2019 first round draft pick out of Michigan.
The former Wolverine has been ready for the moment.
Beecher, expected to work on a fourth line again with new center Mark Kastelic, has impressed coach Jim Montgomery with his training camp performance so far.
“He’s been really good,” said Montgomery before traveling to Philadelphia on Saturday. “He’s come back with the idea of he knows what he is and he really has progressed in all areas – winning puck battles, his intensity. His skating has always been elite. And he’s making more plays. Give credit to him. He’s had a really good summer and I think he’s thought about what he needs to be every day to be a real good Bruin and help us win hockey games.”
A big focus of Beecher’s summer was conditioning so that he can grind through the 82-game schedule. He arrived back in Boston around the July 4 and has been at it ever since at Warrior Ice Arena. While his goals had the long term in mind, he’s already seen a benefit.
“Comparing this time right now to last year, I feel much better,” said Beecher. “I also have a lot more confidence. It’s nice just to be comfortable around here when you’re walking the halls and going out to the ice. I think the summer was a huge success and a lot of thanks to the training staff here for that.”
Beecher had a solid start to his season last year but hit the rookie wall and was sent down to Providence midway through the season. He eventually worked his way back, but he said that time in Providence helped a lot.
“It was big,” said Beecher. “It allowed me to go down and get back to my game, just to refocus and reset. It’s a really long season and being a young player in the league, it’s just something you’ve got to get used to. I had started to let my game slip there a little bit. But I went down there and (Providence coach Ryan Mougenel) and all those guys did a great job with me, just helping me to get back to where I needed to be. By the time I got back up, I was so excited to be here again and I’m ready to get running.”
Beecher was slated to play with Patrick Brown and Fabian Lysell in Philadelphia on Saturday night, but he’s gained some chemistry with the former Ottawa Senator Kastelic, who was given the Philly game off. A Kastelic-Beeecher pairing would not only give the fourth line two big bodies who can skate well, but also two good faceoff men.
“I think we just play pretty similar styles,” said Beecher. “He’s a big body that can skate fast and does all the little things right in the D zone and O zone, so it’s just easy read off each other, whether it’s putting the puck behind the net or coming out of the zone. We have pretty similar habits and we clicked right away, which is nice. He’s also an animal out there so it’s nice to have him right by you.”
Beecher had seven goals in 52 games with the B’s last season. While Montgomery doesn’t expect Beecher to blossom into a 30-goal scorer, he does think that a 15-goal season is not out of the question.
Beecher hopes the little things will take care of those kind of numbers.
“I don’t think I’m really going into the season with a number on it,” said Beecher. “It’s not really something I want to focus too much on. I think if you’re focused each and every night and you’re bringing your best, good things happen. We’ve got a lot of talent coming in this year with guys like Kasty. I already have pretty good chemistry with him, so I think it’s just bringing your A game every day and seeing what happens.”…
Nikita Zadorov got caught flat-footed and coughed up a breakaway goal in the B’s loss on Thursday in New York. Asked how he thought the Zadorov-Charlie McAvoy pairing looked overall, Montgomery said the evaluation process is ongoing.
“It’s looked good in practice, but the game wasn’t great, right? But our team wasn’t great. It wasn’t a good game for us, obviously. But we’re seeing what it looks like, then we’ll see how it develops. It’s too early,” said Montgomery…
Jackson Edward, a physical defenseman who brings an edge, missed the first week of training camp with an upper body injury, but he made it back in time to get at at least one preseason game. He was set to be paired with Frederic Brunet against the Flyers on Saturday.
“I told him ‘I look forward to seeing you play.’ He’s someone that we’re excited about, so show us why we’re excited,” said Montgomery….
On a possible opening night third line, Matt Poitras was centering Morgan Geekie and Trent Frederic…
Georgii Merkulov was back in the lineup on Saturday, centering Riley Tufte and Vinni Lettieri…
The plan was for Joonas Korpisalo to get the full game on Saturday against the Flyers.
