\u201cIf you were to ask me before last season, I\u2019d say I\u2019m a lot more comfortable at center,\u201d mused Beecher, pondering where he feels he fits best. \u201cBut I got more and more reps at the wing last year, so I don\u2019t know if there\u2019s a full answer to that question. Personally, I love being at center \u2014 faceoffs are a big part of my game, and I like helping out low in the D-zone, closing guys out, and being a guy who\u2019s relied on.\u201d<\/p>\n
The question is whether that\u2019s the best use of Beecher\u2019s legs in this lineup, one that looks as if it will be challenged to score. He has a long stride and can burn, which can be difficult to showcase for centers who, like Beecher, take D-zone coverage as a mandate. Wingers are granted that step or two (sometimes three) advantage in their end, and the best have a knack for blowing the zone at the right moment to generate primo scoring chances. Wingers who do that, and then finish with goals, soon can find themselves making $5 million a year or more.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith my game and my speed,\u201d said Beecher, asked the best case he could make for a career switch to working along the wall, \u201cI won\u2019t say it takes pressure off the D-zone, but you definitely don\u2019t have as much responsibility \u2014 you can get out of the zone a little bit earlier, use your speed, challenge [opposition] wingers wide. That\u2019s something I am trying to do more and more. <\/p>\n
![\"Johnny](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/XRI4UKCWAGKUXVQPBQV6PCDUMQ.JPG\")
Johnny Beecher (center) appeared in 78 games last season.Danielle Parhizkaran\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n
\u201cSay there\u2019s a puck down low in the D-zone and the puck goes up to your other wing, if you see that and read it right, you can slash through the middle, get out in the middle zone \u2014 if the defenseman is sleeping, then you\u2019re off to a breakaway or a one-on-one with the guy on your hip. So, for me, being on the wing means being a little bit more free and kind of getting to that open ice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sturm wants a fast team. Ditto for the 31 other NHL bench bosses. A roster\u2019s ability or inability to play at pace and execute in all three zones has huge implications on what style a coach preaches. <\/p>\n
Every team wants to burn down the house and most have personnel with the legs to start the fire. Among the tricks: optimizing that speed shift after shift. <\/p>\n
In his 130 NHL games, Beecher\u2019s offensive production stands at a modest 10-11\u201321. He went 3-8\u201311 in 78 games last season, leaving him vulnerable to a trade or perhaps not being tendered a contract this summer. The new deal for that equally modest $900,000 has to be interpreted as a vote of confidence by general manager Don Sweeney and a chance for Beecher to establish himself as a full-time resident among the club\u2019s dozen forwards.<\/p>\n
Beecher, remember, was viewed as somewhat of a project when drafted six years ago at the bottom of Round 1. He was part of a dynamic US National Team Development Program in 2018-19 that saw seven of his teammates taken ahead of him in that draft \u2014 led by Jack Hughes (No. 1, Devils) and fellow pivot Alex Turcotte (No. 5, Kings), who often was under Sturm\u2019s tutelage at AHL Ontario. <\/p>\n
Other USNTDP members picked ahead of Beecher were: Trevor Zegras (No. 9, Ducks), Matt Boldy (No. 12, Wild), Spencer Knight (No. 13, Panthers), Cam York (No. 14, Flyers), and Cole Caufield (No. 15, Canadiens). Fifteen stops later, enamored by his size, stride, and reach, the Bruins nabbed Beecher. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was a defensive forward for that [national] team,\u201d recalled Beecher. \u201cYou know, a center who killed penalties, and that was kind of my role there because we had guys like Hughesie, Zegras, Caufield, all goal scorers and skill guys. Even going to Michigan (NCAA), one of my main roles was being a guy they can rely on \u2014 whether it was PK or D-zone draws.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never really thought I was going to show up in the NHL one day and put up crazy numbers, but it was kind of find something I\u2019m good at and try to do that better than other people. I feel I\u2019ve done a pretty good job of that so far, and hopefully my game continues to grow, move up the lineup, but right now, I\u2019m not upset about anything. I\u2019m living out my dream as an NHL hockey player.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also understands that every forward aspires to be, say, the next David Pastrnak, pouring in 40-50 goals and 100 points each season. It\u2019s particularly the expectation that often comes with being drafted in Round 1, no matter what game DNA\/identity a player has established in the years leading up to a draft stocked by 18-year-old dreamers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s something, a lot of kids nowadays, everyone wants to be a goal scorer,\u201d Beecher said. \u201cBut I think it\u2019s a matter of finding what you\u2019re good at, then try to develop that as much as you can and try to develop the other parts of your game. I mean, you can have a long NHL career winning faceoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n
While serving both as center and wing last season, Beecher finished third on the Bruins for faceoff wins (282), behind Lindholm (759) and Zacha (393). Beecher\u2019s solid win rate of 52 percent wasn\u2019t far off their lead, Lindholm with 55.2 percent and Zacha 53.2. League-wide, 108 forwards finished with 280 or more wins, and fewer than half (49) won at a better rate than Beecher.<\/p>\n
One big change for Beecher already has taken place ahead of the new season. He and Poitras, constant companions, are \u201cfinally moving on from each other, I\u2019m getting away from him,\u201d Beecher said with a big smile. He\u2019ll now live in the Seaport with his girlfriend, and Poitras will share a place with Minten.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a great time the last couple of years, living together,\u201d said Beecher. \u201cBut it was time to move. The last two years, when we were both up on the team \u2014 across a whole week, we might have been apart from each other for 20 minutes. Apartment, bus, plane, on the road. We had a great time and he\u2019s one of my best buddies now, but it was time to split up.\u201d<\/p>\n
NO CHANGING ON THE FLY<\/p>\n
Penguins\u2019 Muse will do it his way<\/p>\n
Dan Muse, hired in June as the Penguins\u2019 new coach, long ago played hockey at Canton High (Class of 2000), followed by four seasons at Stonehill College (2005). He taught history for a year at Archbishop Williams and figured his career path was shaping up the day he was accepted into Suffolk Law School. <\/p>\n
But hockey then dragged Muse from the prospect of a life navigating the halls of justice to one living behind a bench between the blue lines.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember getting into Suffolk Law,\u201d said Muse, reached by telephone, \u201cand I walked out of the open house and I decided I wasn\u2019t going to go to law school \u2014 I wanted to coach hockey. Honestly, it was because I loved teaching, and loved being in the classroom, and I was always very passionate about hockey. I just decided I wanted to teach hockey full time.\u201c <\/p>\n
![\"Penguins](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/77Q5EB3ZDSGRUSOA3FETCKFSVY.jpg\")
Penguins coach Dan Muse (right) is 43. Penguins general manager Kyle Dumas is at left.Gene J. Puskar\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Muse, 43, is now charged with teaching the Penguins how to become Stanley Cup contenders again. He brings some 20 years of coaching experience to the Steel City. Only weeks after graduating from Stonehill, where he compiled a modest 5-6\u201311 line in his four Division 3 seasons, he began his long path to a top job in the NHL by being one of Paul Cannata\u2019s assistant coaches at Milton Academy.<\/p>\n
Some 20 years later, after building a coaching dossier that included a long stint at Yale as one of Keith Allain\u2019s assistants, and similar NHL tours assisting fellow Bay Stater Peter Laviolette with the Predators and Rangers, Muse finally landed his first top NHL job with the Penguins.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think that crossed my mind the day I got my diploma at Stonehill,\u201d said Muse, chuckling as he noted the \u201cjourney\u201d that led him to where he is today. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change anything. All these experiences have added up and I feel very fortunate. Even going back to Stonehill, I had to work really hard just to play college hockey there, in any capacity. I wouldn\u2019t trade that for anything. It\u2019s all part of my experience and my journey.\u201d<\/p>\n
Muse, whose parents moved the family to Canton when he was in the eighth grade, will enter this season as one of three Bay State boys directing NHL benches. <\/p>\n