Sabermetrics. The Wildcat Formation. “Load Management.” You name it.
Every pro sports league follows the same copycat mentality as new strategies and ideologies lead to success out on the field, diamond, court, pitch, etc. — and the NHL is certainly no different.
And while hockey has continued to shift more and more towards speed and skill over the past decade especially, the Blues have done their best to halt the shifting sentiment as to what leads to winning hockey in 2019 and beyond.
While St. Louis had its fair share of skilled assets in multiple areas of the game, Craig Berube’s club essentially pummeled and atrophied every opponent standing in its way en route to a Stanley Cup title, with the Bruins often on the receiving end of a suffocating Blues forecheck over a hard-fought two weeks of Cup Final play.
In wake of Boston’s crushing loss at the hands of the brawny Blues, it was relatively easy to draw some sort of correlation between the Bruins’ end result this year and the prospect they targeted in the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft.
In pivot John Beecher, the Bruins added a 6-foot-3, 209-pound power forward with the 30th overall pick in the draft — with the 18-year-old pivot often serving as a one-man wrecking crew during his tenure with the U.S. National Team Development Program.
But when asked of Boston’s intention when it came to selecting a big body like Beecher, Sweeney was quick to note that one Cup loss to the Blues would not signal a shift in ideology that would bring about a return of the “Big Bad Bruins.”
More than anything, the addition of Beecher to the Bruins’ prospect pipeline stands as the latest move in the franchise’s ongoing effort towards bracing itself for the inevitable. That being? The eventual departure of arguably its greatest driver of success for the past decade-plus — a two-headed monster down the middle of the lineup in Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci.
While both Bergeron (turns 34 in July) and Krejci (33) aren’t expected to drop off a cliff in terms of their production, they certainly aren’t getting any younger — and the race is on for Boston to find suitable replacements down the road if the B’s want to remain as a competitive presence in the Eastern Conference for years to come.
Beecher, noted for his intriguing blend of both size and speed, is just the latest candidate potentially set to take the reins in the coming years, joining fellow pivot prospects such as Jack Studnicka, Trent Frederic and others. With the assets they’ve assembled at the center position, the reasoning seems rather sound for Don Sweeney — at least one of them has to pan out, if not hopefully more.
“I just think the skating ability, first of all,” Sweeney said of what made Beecher stand out to Boston. “He really covers a lot of ice, and the game's not going to slow down. It's not, and he can get to the net. He can get inside. I think we were an effective hybrid type team in that regard. Being able to play with skill.
“We're cognizant. You guys know that we're looking at our center-ice position (from a) future standpoint. Where we sit right now we're comfortable, but going forward we have to be able to fill in behind some guys that are very prolific in Boston. I think with Jack and Freddy and Charlie Coyle, obviously Patrice and Krech are still there, (Sean) Kuraly is another one. I think we have the makings to hopefully carry forward.”
While Beecher’s offensive contributions with the NTDP might not jump off the page quite like what Studnicka put forward in his final year of junior hockey (83 points over 60 games with Oshawa/Niagara), the former’s role as third-line center on his club often put him on the outside looking in at scenarios and minutes conducive to more offensive production.
Making the jump up to the college ranks at Michigan should allow Beecher to flex his muscles in the offensive zone, much to the Bruins’ delight.
"There's growth left in his game," Sweeney said. "He's already a big, strong guy, and the skating ability and the ice he can cover. You look at the second half of his year and the production, without playing in primary, productive roles? Obviously with a very elite group of players.
"Our guys did a lot of work in terms of the character of the player, and we believe there's growth still available. He doesn't necessarily pop offensively because he hasn't been put in those situations, but he's going to be a real hard guy to play against. … I know Michigan sees him as a top-two-line guy, and we'll see the growth that comes from there.”
For now, the Bruins will wait to see how Beecher handles the jump up to the collegiate level. The pressure is not on the pivot to make an immediate impact up with the NHL club. In the coming years, however, the strides made by youngsters like Studnicka and Beecher very well could determine just how long Boston can hold onto its status as a viable championship contender.
“There's obviously so much talent there," Beecher said of Bergeron and Co. "It's an exciting team to watch. There's so much to learn, and I'm really looking forward to it, being able to meet the guys and just kind of take it in and learn everything I can."
___________________
___________________
__________________
__________________