Prospects expert Mike Morreale talks Bruins first-rounder John Beecher on Bonus Skate Pod

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The World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, Michigan, has been a coming out party for Bruins 2019 first-round pick (No. 30) John Beecher.

Beecher had three goals and one assist in games last weekend playing for a Team USA split-squad team, then added another goal playing with the full U.S. lineup against Sweden on Wednesday.

#NHLBruins First Round Draft Pick John Beecher opens the scoring to give Team USA a 1-0 Over Sweden. Look at the speed and offensively ability presents. @BOSHockeyNow pic.twitter.com/xV4mhbB2Zg

— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) July 31, 2019

His speed and skating have been talked about since he was in his early teens, and Beecher’s continuing to show off all his skills against the best peer competition in the world.

It’s one thing to read the tweets and watch the videos, but it’s another to get an in-person account of Beecher’s exploits. So in this week’s Bonus Skate Pod, co-host Matt Kalman caught up with NHL.com staff writer Mike Morreale, a veteran of more than a decade of covering prospects.

He was in Plymouth for all of Beecher’s breathtaking play, in addition to knowing Beecher’s play well from the center’s time with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. Morreale describes what he saw from Beecher at the WJSS, what former Bruins player Beecher may compare to, and what Beecher’s potential could be at the University of Michigan and in the NHL.

And don’t forget to listen to The Skate Podcast every Tuesday, including this past week’s episode, when we talked about Charlie McAvoy, the Tuukka Rask/Jaroslav Halak combination and what the Bruins have to do to get rid of David Backes’ contract.