Brandon Carlo, in his years under Bruce Cassidy’s watch on Causeway Street, repeatedly heard the coach muse how much more effective the lanky, amicable defenseman would be if “only he took some mean pills.” Dr. Butch no doubt would have written the same Vitamin M prescription for Beecher, in hopes of seeing Beecher add some toughness to his list of survival skills — abundant speed and faceoff efficiency.
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Jim Montgomery, his first Bruins bench boss, wanted more compete out of Beecher, and didn’t get it. Ditto for Joe Sacco. Same for Marco Sturm for the first quarter of this season. Ryan Mougenel wanted that, too, in Beecher’s tour in AHL Providence.
So, there comes a time, and that time came Tuesday for Beecher. He was chosen in Round 1 (No. 30) in 2019, the Bruins hoping then that he could firm up the soft parts of his game and literally use his legs to enjoy a long run in Boston.
Was that a miscalculation? It looks it now that the clock has run out. But always worth keeping in mind is that the 18-year-olds draft is always a projection game. Scouts and general managers are charged with calculating whether the kid of high-school age standing in front of them ultimately can succeed at the game’s highest level. Every draft class proves there are far more misses than hits.
There are even misses in the fertile ground of the top dozen picks, but the success/yield rate up there is vastly better. Later in Round 1, say, picks 13-32, the sure-shots thin out dramatically. Which is to say there aren’t many David Pastrnaks (No. 25/2014) to pluck in that part of orchard.
As for Carlo (No. 37/2015), he did OK for himself with the Bruins, even without chugging down the mean pills, because he was big enough, fast enough, and smart enough to be an effective defender and efficient penalty killer. There still remains more in his game to tease out, largely on offense, but he has fashioned himself a solid career, and some $27 million in guaranteed earnings, being the player he was for the Bruins across nine seasons and 689 games (including 72 in the playoffs).
No chance Carlo changes his game or playing attitude. Now in Toronto, he is on target to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2027, at age 30. Still without the toughness/compete factor that Cassidy sought, he’ll probably cash in at $30-32 million over a five-year extension. Life is good. Why change a thing?
It was clear, based on Sturm’s blunt assessment of Beecher before Calgary claimed him, that the Bruins chose to move on. It was a departure for a Bruins coach to be so openly pointed and critical, which in itself signaled a sea change in the organization.
Cassidy, whose popularity among players here ran thin because of his public comments about their play, typically was diplomatic with his words to the media. To wit: musing over “mean pills” rather than simply stating Carlo’s game lacked grit, especially where it mattered most, in the Bruins’ own end of the ice.
Wounded egos in the room ultimately factored in Cassidy getting a hasty heave-ho in the summer of 2022, a move all the more baffling when weighed against the coach’s contention that he’d been told only days earlier by general manager Don Sweeney that he’d be back for ‘22-23. Yes, he was back, but behind the Vegas bench.
Sturm, while not mean-spirited in his assessment, used no euphemism or varnish when stating what he had seen of Beecher through training camp and the start of the season.
“For me, as a coach, I gave him opportunity,” Sturm noted. “Quite frankly, I thought he’d be better — more effective. At some point you have to make a decision how to move forward.”
Roughly three hours later, Beecher was outta here, along with the remaining three-fourths of his $900,00 salary cap hit. Low key, polite, and friendly, Beecher was popular with his Black and Gold teammates. If anyone left in his wake cares to grouse about how his departure was handled, or what an openly disappointed Sturm had to say about him, it’s not going to cost Sturm the way it did on Cassidy in ‘22. The front office is making clear that compete is a priority.
The Bruins are fashioning a different work dynamic now, a shift made clear with the March roster purge that included captain Brad Marchand getting sent off to Florida, followed by the sandpaper hires of Tanner Jeannot and Mikey Essiymont.
“It was up to him,” Sturm added about Beecher, “as it is with every player.”
Beecher’s time here could be framed best as “failure to launch.” Aside from the aforementioned skills he arrived with out of the University of Michigan, he did not develop necessary the compete level along the wall, drive to the offensive net, fierce determination to regain possession of the puck, etc., that coaches talk about when wanting “heavy” players in their lineup.
Not everyone is going to be Sam Bennett heavy, because a large degree of the Panthers forward’s nasty growl is probably more genetic than it is coached in or self-taught. For those who truly want to get in the game, stay in it, thrive, the grit-and-compete factor has to develop, unless they have such abundant soft skills that allow them to thrive. Then there’s Oilers star forward Conor McDavid, the most skilled player today, whose compete game and skill game are in lock step.
“At the end of the day, it’s a go-out-and-earn-it deal,” a grounded, realistic Beecher said to this writer in August, pleased to have signed his one-year extension and have another chance, this time with a new coach. “I’ve got a season in front of me, I’ve got to go and prove that I belong, not only in the NHL but on the Boston Bruins. I’m really excited for it — it’s a fresh start.”
Fresh turned stale Tuesday.
Now the tough part begins for Beecher, either toughen up at the edge or be just one more skilled Bruins draftee left at the waterfront to say, “I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody.”
Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom retired from the NHL after the 2011-12 season.AP/Associated Press
SKILLS CLINIC
Chara looked to Lidstrom to complete game
Nicklas Lidstrom was some 10 years into his stellar NHL career, his name already on the Stanley Cup two times with the Red Wings, when Zdeno Chara became captivated by the Swedish defenseman’s game. Chara was in his mid-20s, playing for the Senators, the hockey world already having sized him up as a big, fearless, brute force along the blue line.
It was clear then that Chara’s gifts and reputation would take him a long way, keep him in the NHL a very long time. He wanted more of himself. He wanted to be like the great skilled defenseman who played for the Winged Wheels.
“When I came in the league,” recalled Chara, who played his first NHL shifts for the Islanders at age 20, “I couldn’t avoid watching guys who played like me, guys like Derian Hatcher, Chris Pronger, Ulf Samuelsson. Then I came to realize, ‘OK, I want to become a more complete player and I need to add things to my game that I don’t have — and I didn’t need more mean and nasty or toughness.
“And that’s when I became obsessed with Nick Lidstrom.”
The desire to play like Lidstrom, explained Chara, was driven in part because of how then-Ottawa coach Jacques Martin insisted his club play. Martin’s offensive scheme required that defensemen jump into the offense, a role not asked of Chara during his teenage years in Slovakia or when he first arrived in Canada to play junior or later with AHL Kentucky.
To play for Martin, noted Chara, a defenseman was mandated to join in the action, and it didn’t matter which of the two blue liners on the ice at the time got after it. Attendance was not optional.
“And at first I was like, ‘What is he asking? Why me?’ ” recalled Chara, who averaged 40 points in his final two seasons playing for Martin. “Then I understood, ‘OK, he wants me to jump in, and I need to join the offense … I [have to] learn how to join the offense.’ Then I was on the power play, point, shooting, and at the net front. I had to start watching guys who did that — and Nick was the guy.”
Lidstrom’s game made simple, noted Chara, came down to skating, positioning, and anticipation. For a guy 6 feet 9 inches and around 250 pounds, one who always felt skating was an arduous chore, getting nimble on his blades took a lot of work. It was one thing to know how Lidstrom did it, to understand it, but something vastly different to learn it and implement it.
“For me watching Nick was like watching an artist create a beautiful painting,” said Chara. “The Red Wings game would be on TV and I would not even watch the puck, I would just watch him. I remember wishing I had a 100-inch TV that would show the whole ice. I was just watching him. I didn’t care about the system, I didn’t care about who they were playing. I was just watching his behavior, his movements, his thought process.”
The goal of all that, “was to become more Chara-slash-something-closer-to-Nick.”
“Even though I realized I would never be like Nick,” added Chara, “I think I improved in that department.”
It was Lidstrom, the Hall of Famer now age 55 and seven years older than Chara, who stood at the retired Bruins captain’s side in Toronto a couple of weeks ago and officially welcomed him into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
“Nick Lidstrom,” said a sincere Chara, “is my idol.”
ETC.
Sharks get good second look at Celebrini
The Bruins on Sunday will be in San Jose, where former Boston University forward Macklin Celebrini has thrived in his sophomore NHL season. Entering the weekend, the 19-year-old center from North Vancouver ranked third in league scoring (13-18–31), behind only veteran superstars Nathan MacKinnon (36 for the Avalanche) and Conor McDavid (32 for the Oilers). Impressive company.
“Looks to me like he made a good decision to turn pro when he did,” mused legendary BU coach Jack Parker, 80, who was well into retirement when Celebrini spent 2023-24 as a Terrier. “The Sharks got themselves a pretty good player.”
Lexington’s Will Smith, ranked second in Sharks scoring (7-13–20) as of Friday, also turned pro with San Jose after spending only the ‘23-24 season at Boston College. The Sharks chose Celebrini at No. 1 in the 2024 draft. Smith went No. 4 in ‘23.
“If a kid is ready and wants to go, he should go,” said a matter-of-fact Parker, who had countless discussions on that subject with lower- and upperclassmen over his 40 years behind the Terriers bench. “I have no problem with that.”
What the blunt Parker doesn’t like to see is college kids dashing out the door before their game is NHL ready. Even more discouraging, he said, is to see players bopping from one school to another, enticed by more NIL money or what they perceive as a chance to build their NHL bona fides because they perceive a school is a better fit with more playing time or, say, a chance to post more points.
The recent NCAA rule change, allowing players with Canadian junior experience to play college hockey, also is not to Parker’s liking.
“We’re seeing a lot of change,” said Parker, recently inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, “and I’d argue it’s not all for the better.”
Rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer arrived at the weekend with seven goals and eight assists for the Islanders.Nick Wass/Associated Press
On Wednesday, in their road trip wrap-up, the Bruins will get their third look at Islanders defensemen Matthew Schaefer. The sublime freshman was tied for the rookie scoring lead (15 points) with right wingers Ivan Demidov (Montreal) and Beckett Sennecke (Anaheim), and tied for 12th among blue liners overall, entering Friday. Schaefer has a very bold offensive game, not afraid to attack the net off the wing like a forward — the kind of player, noted Islanders coach Patrick Roy, “I would pay to see.” Schaefer is putting some long-needed buzz back into the sleepy franchise in Elmont, N.Y. If he keeps it going, he’ll become a lock for the Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year), an award that has gone to only two Islanders defenseman — Denis Potvin (1973-74) and Bryan Berard (1996-97) … Entering Friday’s game in Los Angeles, the Bruins’ Morgan Geekie had 14 goals, second only to fellow forward Nathan MacKinnon’s 16 for the Avalanche and tied with Bo Horvat (Islanders) and Leon Draisaitl (Oilers). Geekie’s two goals Wednesday in Anaheim brought to 47 his total across 99 games since the start of last season. Yet there has been no mention of Geekie, proud son of Strathclair, Manitoba, suiting up for Team Canada at the Olympics in February. After scoring 33 goals last season (T26 on a list including Canadian/Penguins star Sidney Crosby), he wasn’t on Canada’s summer Olympic info meeting in Calgary, which happens to be his offseason home. Granted, Canada has a deep list of roster candidates, but 47 goals in 99 games? As of Friday morning, the great Sid the Kid had 45 in his last 99 games. No one’s putting Geekie ahead of Crosby, but from here the Bruins winger looks like a perfect fit as Team Canada’s 13th forward at Olympus … Zach Hyman, finally back off the injured list and in the Oilers offense again (0-2–2 in four games), has authored three successful children’s books over the years. The titles: “The Magician’s Secret”, “Hockey Hero”, and “The Bambino and Me.” Yep, we’re talking that Bambino, the one with a prodigious appetite for wolfing down hot dogs and slugging home runs. Hyman has been on author’s hiatus for a while, busy raising a family and helping the Oilers to back-to-back Stanley Cup Final visits. It sounds like he has another book in him. If so, the bet here is that the title will include the words “Curse” and “Maple Leafs.” It could be his autobiography, given that the Maple Leafs opted to let him walk as a free agent in the summer of 2021, and all he has done since is prove that he’s precisely the player they should have kept in hopes of ending a Stanley Cup drought dating to 1967. The Red Sox, for those who don’t remember, dealt that Bambino not long after winning the World Series in 1918 and didn’t win again until 2004. Someone ought to write a book about it. Sounds like it could be a best sellah.
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com.