Toronto Maple Leafs: Breaking down second-round forward draft targets
By Austin Owens
John Beecher, Centre, USNTDP
The Toronto Maple Leafs had some solid centre depth in the system just a few years ago, but with all their top prospects in the position graduating to the NHL – with a couple of them moving to the wing – there’s definitely a need for some better depth in that spot.
Pierre Engvall was used as a centre for the Marlies later in the season, and while it worked well, having wingers play as pivots generally doesn’t go too well.
This one is a bit of a longshot. Beecher is slated to go ahead of the Leafs’ second-rounder in most rankings. But stranger things have happened, so let’s take a look.
Beecher played for a stacked USNTDP program this year. As a centreman, he was forced down the lineup due to the insane depth the team had down the middle. He was playing behind the likes of Jack Hughes, Alex Turcotte, and Trevor Zegras – when he wasn’t playing on Hughes’ wing. That’s a trio of players who could be gone in the first five picks in this year’s draft.
At 6-foot-3, 209 lbs, he’s got the build that every NHL team likes to have in a centreman. He also uses that frame to move around the ice at a pace that fits today’s game.
"“Beecher has top-six talent written all over him, but it’s not easy to distinguish oneself on a team loaded down the middle. He’s a powerful skater with excellent agility and does phenomenal work on the penalty kill.” – Steve Kournianos, The Draft Analyst"
Beecher will be taking his talents to the University of Michigan next season. He’ll likely spend more than a year with the Wolverines, so he’d have more than enough experience against high-level competition once he makes the jump to the pros.