Bruins
“He is sensible on each side of the puck. He is actually good with it — the best way he strikes and may dish it.”
The hype continues to construct for Bruins rookie Matthew Poitras.
As soon as thought-about an extended shot to crack the NHL roster this fall, given each his age (19) and lack of ability to report back to the AHL, Poitras has compelled the Bruins hand to this point by taking advantage of his preseason reps.
The 19-year-old heart has arguably been Boston’s most impactful ahead throughout preseason motion, posting three factors over three video games whereas incomes common reps on each the ability play and penalty kill.
Throughout Monday’s preseason highway loss to the Flyers, Poitras recorded a secondary help, logged 16:39 of ice time, and likewise gained eight of his 11 faceoffs whereas skating in a top-six position.
“I assumed he did a superb job tonight,” Jim Montgomery informed reporters postgame. “He reveals loads of poise with the puck. He makes performs and makes clever assist performs. He’s somebody that constructed our crew recreation tonight on the market. Made loads of sensible hockey performs.”
Regardless of the questions surrounding Poitras’ slight body (5-foot-11, 170 kilos) and his capacity to resist each the bodily toll and exhausting grind of an 82-game NHL season, Poitras has clearly impressed each Boston’s teaching workers and several other established gamers within the dressing room.
Talking forward of Tuesday’s preseason matchup towards the Capitals, Bruins captain Brad Marchand spoke extremely of Poitras — noting that his playmaking poise reminds him of a star ahead on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“He jogs my memory loads of [Mitch] Marner, the best way that he performs,” Marchand mentioned of Poitras. “He’s sensible on each side of the puck, he’s actually good with it, the best way he strikes and may dish it. Simply jogs my memory of him and [he’s[ similar where he’s not timid to get into the dirty areas and compete for pucks, but he’s got great vision.
“He does a great job cutting to the middle, buying himself some space, to be able to find those quiet areas on the ice where he has an extra second to make a play. And even when he’s under pressure, when guys are kind of barreling down, he seems to find holes. And so he’s got great vision.”
Drawing comparisons to a proven playmaker like Marner is high praise, given that the Maple Leafs winger has accrued 554 points in 507 career games with Toronto. Much like Poitras, Marner is far from an imposing physical presence at 6-foot-0, 181 pounds.
But the star winger has developed a knack for using sound positioning and a slick set of moves to both avoid contact and cut into Grade-A ice to create plays.
“It’s pretty cool. It’s a good compliment,” Poitras said of Marchand’s lofty comparison. “That’s cool.”
Poitras has the tools to be an impact player in the NHL ranks, but it remains to be seen if now is the time for the 2022 second-round pick to cut his teeth with the Bruins.
Tuesday will represent Poitras’ top test during training camp, with Boston slotting him in the lineup for the second-straight day against the Capitals. He is expected to skate with Marchand and Trent Frederic in a top-six role.
With one last sizable round of cuts likely incoming before Boston’s final preseason tilt on Thursday night against the Rangers, Poitras’ performance against Washington could be the final determinant on whether or not he breaks camp with the big club.
“To see how he handles being able to play on a back-to-back,” Montgomery said Tuesday morning of the reason behind playing Poitras for the second-straight day. “I thought the Flyers had a really good lineup last night, and we’re gonna see a really good lineup from Washington.
“From the looks of it, it’s pretty much Washington’s team up front. So you’ll see him go against the [Nicklas] Backstroms, the [Evgeny] Kuznetsovs of the world and see how he handles that.”
Though Poitras can both play within the NHL or get despatched again right down to the OHL’s Guelph Storm for an additional 12 months of junior hockey in 2023-24, the Bruins do have some choices in the event that they need to see if Poitras can maintain his personal throughout regular-season motion.
Though Poitras can’t be slotted right down to Windfall to tackle AHL competitors, the Bruins can open the common season with the rookie on the roster. He can then play at the least 9 complete video games with the Bruins earlier than Boston has to resolve to both preserve him up with the NHL roster all season, or ship him again to junior hockey.
To this point, it seems to be like Poitras has earned a shot at that nine-game trial run.
“It’s gonna be powerful on him tonight, having a back-to-back with journey,” Marchand mentioned of Poitras. “It’’s not gonna be straightforward. So hopefully we can assist them out, attempt to dig some pucks out for him and make it just a little simpler.
“These are issues that you simply want to have the ability to present you are able to do at this subsequent stage is be constant. Even once you performed the sport the night time earlier than otherwise you traveled or no matter it’s. However he’s an ideal little participant. He’s acquired a vibrant future forward of him.”
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