John Beecher ticks pretty much all the boxes for the Calgary Flames.
At 24 years old, he fits the age profile of the players the Flames are looking to add.
At 6-foot-3 and weighing in at 220 lbs., he’s got the size they love and Beecher can kill penalties and take on tough matchups, too.
And speaking shortly after the Flames had picked up Beecher off waivers from the Boston Bruins at lunchtime on Tuesday, GM Craig Conroy repeatedly brought up Beecher’s speed and skating.
“He’s a good skater, a really good penalty-killer and good in the faceoff circle, he’s over 53% lifetime in the NHL, so those are all the things we’re looking for,” Conroy said. “He’s another centre, a real natural centre, so we think that’s something he can bring to the team, too, and just as we always talk about wanting to get our pace and speed up, this guy is a very good skater with very good size.”
What Beecher doesn’t bring is a tonne of offensive upside. He’s only got 11 goals and 11 assists in 136 NHL games played out over three seasons with the Bruins, so nobody should be expecting the New York native to come in and solve the Flames’ scoring challenges.
But the reality is that under-25 centremen who were drafted in the first round (30th overall) just don’t become available very often, especially over the waiver wire.
For a Flames team that’s in last place, recently assigned fourth-line centre Justin Kirkland to the AHL and have called up the unproven Sam Morton to replace him for Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks, a young centre like Beecher was just too good to pass up.
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“Everybody’s got roles and what you’re looking for, what he brings is things we’re missing,” Conroy explained. “We hope he can chip in offensively, but that’s not why we got him. It’s more the faceoffs, the penalty-kill, hard matchups and just to bring more speed to the team. He’s a really good skater for his size.
“Those guys (Morton and other young players) are all going to get chances. Unfortunately, it’s where we are. We’re at the bottom of the standings and if we can find the age-appropriate guys, we’re looking to take chances to see. This is a good opportunity for us, a guy we liked and we had a chance to get him off waivers. We thought we should move forward with it.”
It’s worth noting, too, that Beecher is two years younger than Morton — who has only one game of NHL experience — and five years younger than Kirkland, so acquiring him shouldn’t be seen as the Flames blocking the path for youth. If anything, it’s the opposite.
As for where he’ll fit in, it will almost certainly be in a fourth-line role with lots of penalty-killing time mixed in. With Sam Honzek out week-to-week with an upper-body injury, the Flames could certainly use another forward who can shut down opponents when the team has someone in the penalty box.
And the Flames are clearly excited by Beecher’s proficiency in the faceoff circle, too. It’s something Conroy brought up repeatedly when speaking with Postmedia, and Beecher’s 53.1% faceoff win percentage was definitely part of his appeal for the Flames.
“When he comes in we’ll make sure we say, ‘Faceoffs, you want lots of ice time? Win draws’, “ Conroy said.
Nothing imminent
Flames fans shouldn’t be holding their breath for Zayne Parekh’s return.
It’s going to be a little while.
Parekh is officially listed as being out week-to-week with an upper-body injury suffered during the Flames’ matchup with the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 7.
Week-to-week can mean any number of things, though, and Conroy explained that the ninth-overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft still has a ways to go before he can return to the ice.
“He’s doing better. He feels better. We’re not going to rush him,” Conroy said. “I think we’ve said week-to-week but it’s definitely going to be a while. It’s not going to be next week or anything like that.”
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