Beecher Looking to Build On ‘Really Productive Offseason’

BOSTON – Johnny Beecher has had his focus on Boston.

With the 22-year-old getting set for his second full professional season, his eyes are set on making the big club out of training camp. As such, Beecher made the city his home for much of the offseason.

After spending about three weeks training at USA Hockey’s facilities in Michigan, Beecher returned to Boston and for the last two months has been gearing up at Warrior Ice Arena.

“It was a good summer. I had a really productive offseason and I’m just coming into camp open minded, trying to give it everything I’ve got…and we’ll see what happens at the end,” Beecher, who added that his goals were to shore up his offensive game, specifically his shot and puck possession, said following the opening of Bruins Rookie Camp on Wednesday.

Beecher hopes that when camp concludes in early October, he’s not making the trek back down I-95 to Providence. He is well aware of the open competition down the middle of the ice with the retirements of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci this offseason and is aiming to seize the opportunity.

“I think it’s definitely something that you look at, and it’s enticing,” said the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Elmira, New York, native, who also spent some time at left wing with Providence last season. “Obviously, everybody coming into camp wants to have a shot, and this year there’s a bunch of opportunities…so, I just have to go into camp and try my best.”

Having been through a training camp, as well as several Bruins Development Camps, Beecher is feeling more at ease in his surroundings as he prepares for this weekend’s three-game Prospects Challenge in Buffalo.

“One hundred percent [more comfortable],” said Beecher, who was selected 30^th overall in 2019. “I think last year I came into camp kind of wide-eyed, staring around, and I think this year I definitely have a better idea of what I have to do now that I’m here and what it’s going to take, so I’m excited.”

Beecher grew immensely throughout his first full professional campaign – during which he tallied 23 points (9 goals, 14 assists) in 61 games for the P-Bruins – particularly in the second half of the season when he became a dependable all-situations player for Providence coach Ryan Mougenel.

“John Beecher's growth for us has been great,” said Mougenel. “He’s not the only player to come down to Providence and, I wouldn't necessarily say struggle, but maybe have a little bit of an identity issue early on. By the second half, he was our go-to guy down there for a lot of situations. His skating obviously separates him from most of his peers down there.

“The ability to hang on to a puck and get in and be first to the puck is something that he did really well. The one thing we really liked about John by the end of the year was his willingness to play a physical brand of hockey, and it took time. The one thing we're allotted in the American League is having patience for players, especially a bigger player, to figure that out. I think John did an amazing job of that.

“Thinking the right way is always going to be something that we preach to our players, and it is tough. John's one of those guys that struggled early on. He came from a great program and had a certain pedigree. You realize pretty quickly that it's a really good league. There's really good players in the American Hockey League.

“Once he figured that out and what he could and couldn't do, I thought John's growth was fantastic for us.”

Lysell Keeping Focus

Fabian Lysell is hoping that the third time’s a charm.

As he enters his third training camp with the Bruins, the speedy, skilled winger – like Beecher – has his eyes set on sticking in Boston this time around.

“Well, it's exciting,” said the 20-year-old Sweden native. “I feel excited to come in now. It's my third time, and I feel like I’ve grown a lot both on and off the ice…I think that's going to help me a lot. Not just playing, but taking it all in. It's a process, it's a month of hard work and trying to prove yourself that you're capable of playing in the NHL.

“I'm excited for it, though, and they are as well. Just a couple of details [to improve] – ow to manage the games, puck management and all that stuff. And I'm just trying to listen and go out there and prove that I’m ready for that spot.”

Lysell’s first professional season did not end as he would’ve liked after suffering a concussion in the P-Bruins’ opening-round playoff series. The 2021 first-round pick said, however, that he had a strong summer of training and is feeling healthy heading into camp.

“I felt good,” said Lysell. “It's been a good summer to recover from last year and all of that. Felt fine out for a period of time.”

The 5-foot-11 winger added that adapting – particularly mentally – to the increased physical nature of the game at the professional level is among his highest priorities.

“Yeah, of course it is,” said Lysell. “If you used to create that space for yourself, you're going to get jammed up against the walls, and you might get stuck there from time to time…that’s adjustment, but I feel like as the time goes on, you get more adjusted to it.

“A big part about it is to have that on and off button. There's way more games than I was used to before, so that's also something that I felt like I’ve learned more about that.”

Wait, There’s More

• Beecher, a Michigan product, on playing on a line with former Boston College star Trevor Kuntar and recent college free agent signing John Farinacci, a former Harvard standout, during Wednesday’s first rookie camp practice: “It’s good, they’re both really good players, I’ve kind of known them both through just coming up, but never really had the chance to play with them. So, I’m looking forward to our first game here out in Buffalo, and hopefully we are still on a line… because I think we’ll click pretty well.”
• Mougenel on what he’d like to see this weekend in Buffalo: “Well, I think, one, there's obviously a lot of guys with a lot of opportunity, A lot of guys that played for us in Providence last year are ready to take a step. I think there's attributes that they bring. I think this tournament is an amazing opportunity for them to showcase those. They can knock off the rust a little bit and maybe get a head start on some of the older guys, the veteran guys, that don't get those exhibition games early on. That was our message today. That’s what we want to see. We want to see the competitive spirit and, you know, figure out what your brand is for us. I think we have a lot of young players that did a really good job last year, especially in Providence, doing that.
• Mougenel on which players he’s eager to watch compete at the Prospects Challenge: “I'm excited to see a lot of guys. [Mason] Lohrei's one I'm very excited to see and [Georgii] Merkulov took a huge step and Lysell and Beech and [Luke] Toporowski is another guy that might surprise you. He plays the game the right way and is taking huge steps as a pro. Then there's some young guys too that I don't know very well. I'm not going to stand up here and say that I'm too familiar with them. I've watched a little bit of video on everybody. But yeah, we're excited to see what we have.”