Prospect Info: John Beecher signs ELC - 925K AAV

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30. Boston Bruins - John Beecher, C, U.S. 18 (NTDP)

Watch out NHL, because the Bruins just drafted NTDP center John Beecher - one of the meanest and fastest 6-foot-3, 200-pound pivots they'll ever see. Beecher bit the bullet by assuming the fourth-line role on a team with the greatest collection of centers in NHL draft prospect history, but he still found a way to distinguish himself at both even strength and on the penalty kill. He'll be playing for Michigan in the fall, and his skill set is perfect for the hard-hitting college game. Grade: A

Above is from Steve Kourianos' analysis on the Sporting News. He obviously likes the pick for Boston.
 
Well, who knows how he'll end up, but as picks go, he sounds like he could be a good one. I like the size, skating power, likes to get in close to the net, drive to the net, likes to hit, 200-ft game, some playmaking ability. Maybe the David Backes we all wanted?

I imagine the Bruins brass see a potential centre to bring size and drive to the top 6. Who knows in 3 years where we'll be with Bergeron and Krejci. Likely the top 6 wingers will be Marchand, Pasta, DeBrusk, maybe Kuhlman, maybe MoJo, possibly another prospect currently in the system or someone brought in by trade/UFA. If Beecher grows into an effective top-6 centre, that's a good C to have in the mix.

Time will tell.
 
It was a really good pick at 30. Had a friend on the draft floor (Western team) and they were happy he was going East. Sportsnet guys seemed to all be revved up about it too. I've seen him play just a little so no personal angle to add.
 
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31 spots and kaliyev was passed on every single time. That's not a red flag to you? I wanted him but Beecher was a solid pick.
in fairness Kucherov was a 2nd rounder too.

I dunno. I keep going back & forth. I like what they got in Beecher but really hope in a couple years I'm not like "why tf didn't they draft Kaliyev??"
 
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31 spots and kaliyev was passed on every single time. That's not a red flag to you? I wanted him but Beecher was a solid pick.
Some times red flags are just a caution.

If I remember correctly, this team passed on some players because of red flags, and some of those guys are distinguished NHLers now.

It goes the other way, too.

My gut says, this is the guy the Bruins wanted to and they grabbed him when they could. Hopefully it pays off.
 
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Some times red flags are just a caution.

If I remember correctly, this team passed on some players because of red flags, and some of those guys are distinguished NHLers now.

It goes the other way, too.

My gut says, this is the guy the Bruins wanted to and they grabbed him when they could. Hopefully it pays off.
Reasonable arguments if some team would have picked him in the first round. But every single team passed on him.
 
I feel like passing on Kaliyev is going to come back to bite them. Honestly to me it feels like these "safe" picks are just as likely to bust as those so called boom/bust picks. The difference being that at least the boom/bust guys have huge upside if they hit. Aside from McAvoy, feels like Sweeney has picked a lot of low ceiling players with early picks.
 
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DeBrincat got passed 38 times and just scored 40 goals.

There were no questions about Debrincats effort. He dropped because he was little and people gave Connor and strome all the credit for his production. For all the complaining, Kaliyev was said to be "polarizing" and some people thought he was lazy and didn't skate well and Lavpie, for all of his talent, put up a very caronesque stat line in the q. Those are both high upside picks that have a lot of risk.

They didn't have a first last year and they don't pick again for 60 more picks, they needed to get a player who is likely to contribute at the nhl level. Beecher is a really good pick and the best center left. He's also got a much higher floor than Lavoie and kaliyev.
 
Safe to say with an eventual center/wing group that likely includes Coyle, Kuraly, Frederic, Studnicka, and Beecher will have flexibility and ain’t getting knocked all over the ice

My Neanderthal buds already weighing in via texts liking they are going big big big with guys who can skate

I got a text or PM or something :laugh: from someone in the past week telling me Beecher is their guy - I’ll have to scan thru and give due credit

Also one of my buds who is a member here and a long time draft wonk and phenomenal identifying going way back - wanted Beecher

I woke up to a text he was very happy with the pick
 
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What gives me pause is that we're projecting him based on what he might've done as a go-to guy and comparing that to other players in his class who actually were. They've been burned recently for doing that.

I think you are referring to Senyshyn. Here’s the difference.

1. Beecher was always listed as a first round talent. Scouts have know about him for years. Senyshyn wasn’t even ranked in the preliminary lists.

2. Beecher was buried under the best centers in the entire draft. The same cannot be said for Senyshyn. Soo Greyhounds were good...but not close to the USNTDP this year.

3. Beecher is already a strong 200 foot player, a top PK contributor and shutdown C. He does not need to round out those aspects of his game.

4. He was drafted 30th overall in a deep, but far less star-studded draft than, say Senyshyn. Scouts repeated time and time again that there wasn’t much difference between players ranged 10-40.

The only similarity between Beecher and Senyshyn is that both players were buried on their respective teams on draft day. Other than that, I don’t see any similarities.
 

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