Matthew Poitras took Bruins coaching camp by storm final season, incomes a spot on the NHL roster in Boston. The then 19-year-old rookie competed in 33 video games earlier than shoulder surgical procedure minimize brief his marketing campaign in February.
Quick-forward to coaching camp, which started earlier this week. Poitras is as soon as once more battling for a roster spot with the massive membership, and he has no intention of slowing down.
“I wish to be right here,” Poitras informed reporters on Thursday, per the staff. “I need to have the ability to present that I belong right here and that they actually do not have a selection — you gotta preserve me right here.”
Poitras added to his case when he stepped into the highest heart place with Elias Lindholm missed observe on Friday and the Bruins annual Black and Gold Scrimmage on Satruday. The 20-year-old second-round draft decide wasted no time getting on the board with the Bruins. Poitras collected the unfastened puck off the endboard, skated up ice and beat Ryan Bischel for one of many Black staff’s six targets.
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“Poitras had a great recreation,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery informed reporters after the scrimmage, per Boston Hockey Now’s Andrew Fantucchio. “He was good across the puck. He had the puck quite a bit, and that is his recreation, so it was good. We’ll see him on the wing, and we’ll see the place he appears finest.”
Although it was a scrimmage, it was the primary recreation motion Poitras had seen since Jan. 25.
“It is early in camp, and that was the primary recreation I’ve performed shortly, so I am simply getting snug taking part in,” Poitras mentioned, per Fantucchio. “There was just a little little bit of rust, and there have been some performs I would prefer to have again, however I felt fairly good. My legs felt good. I’ve by no means actually sat out for this sort of size of an damage, so it is all new to me. I believe simply getting reps in and getting increasingly more snug, getting hit just a little bit, will get you into that recreation ambiance.”
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On the primary day of camp, Poitras performed proper wing whereas Trent Frederic centered the road. In Lindholm’s absence, he skated down the center with Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak flanked on his wing. He made it clear both spot can be tremendous with him.
“I’ve performed wing prior to now, and I am snug there,” Poitras mentioned, per team-provided video. “Clearly, it is just a little bit much less skating than heart, so it is perhaps reserving a bit extra vitality for taking part in offense, the place I like to carry pucks down low and having extra vitality for that will be good
“I am simply able to play wherever, whether or not it is heart or winger. It is simply wherever I slot in finest.”
The Bruins have loads of depth this 12 months, with Pastrnak, Zacha, Lindholm, Charlie Coyle and Brad Marchand main the highest two strains and the emergence of Frederic, Morgan Geekie, Johnny Beecher and Justin Brazeau final season. Boston additionally added Max Jones and Mark Kastelic on the primary day of free company, so Poitras might be battling with Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov for a roster spot. It could not be out of the query for Poitras to spend a while in Windfall throughout his sophomore marketing campaign.
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