Boston Bruins 2019 first round pick, John Beecher, has found himself earning a suspension for a headbutt this past weekend.
In the February 1st game between the University of Michigan and Ohio State, the Boston Bruins 30th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft was given a major and game misconduct for a head-butt. The Big Ten announced an additional one game suspension on Monday.
John Beecher certainly looks to have a future with the Boston Bruins; since signing with the team, he has impressed with his positional awareness and looks to have simply not had the opportunities last year, stuck behind an elite USNTDP group of centers.
Boston Bruins fans will no doubt have two distinct views on this headbutting incident; some will see it as a huge positive, stating that Beecher plays with intensity and aggression and it’s exactly the spark the Bruins need.
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Others will take a less positive view of the incident and suggest that Beecher has a considerable amount of maturing to do before making it to the NHL.
Personally, I see it as a bit of both. The future down the middle for the Boston Bruins likely involves both John Beecher and Trent Frederic, both of him have mean streaks and slightly aggressive tendencies. This isn’t always a bad thing, but a good player knows when to curb his temper.
Likewise, he knows how to bottle that emotion and unleash it on the opposition in a manner that is properly damaging, like landing a well-timed hit to shift momentum or winding it up into a slap-shot!
It’s reasonable to take an ill view of a headbutting incident regardless of whether you enjoy physical hockey though.
That sort of behaviour has no part in our game and while I haven’t seen footage of the incident, it’s got to have been relatively blatant if the league afforded John Beecher a one-game suspension on top of the game misconduct.
We may never know whether something was said or whether it was purely heat of the battle and a teenager over-reacting. End of the day, it’s no excuse, but does somewhat explain away Beecher’s actions.
Hopefully, he’s able to learn a lesson from this and the Boston Bruins don’t hold it over him. As a first round pick, he has certain expectations placed on his shoulders and it’d be foolish for some poor decisions to damage his NHL future.