Twenty-four-year-old centres who were drafted in the first round don’t become available for free all that often. Article content

So it only made sense for the Calgary Flames to make a waiver claim for John Beecher when the Boston Bruins made him available on Monday. Article content Article content

Twenty-four hours later, Beecher officially was the newest member of the Calgary Flames .

At 6-foot-3 and 220 lbs., the Elmira, N.Y., native will bring size and physicality to the middle of the ice.

His offensive numbers certainly don’t pop — he had just 11 goals and 11 assists in 136 games for the Bruins — but Beecher should provide some depth at centre and was used regularly on the penalty kill in Boston.

Selected 30th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, Beecher spent the next two seaso

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