The Boston Bruins losing 2019 first-round draft pick John Beecher on waivers is part of a bigger problem for the organization. While it's unfortunate to lose him for nothing to the Calgary Flames, Marco Sturm put it best when he said the fourth-line center hasn't been good enough. Fans are blaming the front office for losing him for nothing, but there are players to replace him everywhere in the league.
The problem for the Bruins' organization at this point is that there might be a development problem. There haven't been many players who have gone through the AHL and become legitimate NHL players. David Pastrnak, Mason Lohrei, and Jeremy Swayman are three players on the current roster who spent some time in Providence, but they all graduated quickly.
The rest of the Bruins' roster includes players whom they had to acquire from other teams to plug holes. Pavel Zacha, Andrew Peeke, and most of the bottom-six forwards developed into NHL players with different organizations and are now playing roles on the Bruins. Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov are the latest young difference-makers. Still, fans should be glad they went through the Toronto and Minnesota systems rather than Boston's, which is concerning given the state of those franchises.
Fans aren't happy about some players sitting in Providence, but the truth is that they aren't ready. Matthew Poitras, Fabian Lysell, and Georgii Merkulov have all looked decent in the AHL, but it never fully translates when they get NHL opportunities. The front office had plenty of players to choose from in the AHL amidst their recent injury troubles, but the three forwards who earned the opportunity were Matej Blumel, Alex Steeves, and Riley Tufte.
Do the Boston Bruins have a development problem?
It isn't easy to have much hope that the youth in the AHL will ever fully develop under the current staff. They haven't been able to create many gems for the NHL club recently, and it seems prospects must have high potential when entering the organization to become players, like Pastrnak, Swayman, and Charlie McAvoy.
It gives some hope that James Hagens will sign his pro contract and become a contributor for the Bruins. However, the worry is what the coaching staff will do with players like Dean Letourneau, Will Zellers, and Will Moore. Those players will likely need to pass through the development cycle, like Dans Locmelis is already doing this season.
Is the front office trying too hard to mold their prospects into the Bruins' culture instead of letting them be their own player? If that's the case, it is a fixable problem. However, it's challenging to have confidence that this current management group will ever change those ways, since it's been their M.O. throughout their tenures.