If there was still any doubt, there isn’t after Thursday night: 19-year-old Matt Poitras will be on the Bruins’ opening night roster.
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Boston coach Jim Montgomery pretty much locked that in after his team’s 3-1 win over the New York Rangers when he was asked if Poitras has made it impossible to send him back to juniors before the start of the regular season.
“Yeah, I mean, it certainly looks that way,” Montgomery said. “He’s earned the right to stick around for a while, that’s for sure.”
Truth. Poitras scored again Thursday, getting open in the slot and finishing off a feed from Trent Frederic for the go-ahead goal early in the third period. The play started with Poitras winning a defensive-zone faceoff, part of a 4-for-5 night at the dot.
Poitras finished the preseason with three goals (most on the team) and two assists (tied for second-most on the team) for five points (most on the team) in five games. The Bruins outscored opponents 5-1 during his 5-on-5 shifts and held a 10-6 advantage in high-danger chances. He won 55.7% of his faceoffs and contributed on both the power play and penalty kill.
Numbers aside, what really stood out was how often Poitras had the puck, how poised he looked when he did, and how good his playmaking was.
“He just seems to be in the right spots,” Montgomery said. “He has the puck a lot because he’s always in the right support position. And then when he gets the puck, his poise with the puck, he’s calm beyond his years with the puck.”
Whether Poitras sticks in Boston all season remains to be seen. The Bruins can keep him for up to nine regular-season games without burning a year off his entry-level contract. Montgomery’s comments Thursday night make it clear they are going to at least give him that extended tryout. After those nine games, they would need to decide to either keep him in the NHL or send him back to the Guelph Storm in the Ontario Hockey League. He is not eligible to play in the AHL this season due to his age.
Regardless of how the rest of this month plays out (Game 9 is on Oct. 30), Poitras has already given the Bruins something they needed: Hope. Specifically, hope when it comes to the future of the center position.
All summer long, the biggest question facing the Bruins was how they would replace Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, not just now, but in the future as well. The biggest criticism leveled against general manager Don Sweeney was that he didn’t have a better succession plan ready to go.
Now, all of a sudden, here comes a potential successor. Unlike some other young centers in the Bruins’ system whose games seem better-suited to bottom-six roles, Poitras possesses the offensive skill, particularly in the playmaking department, to be a top-six center, possibly even as early as this season.
Poitras centered the Bruins’ third line on Thursday with Trent Frederic and Morgan Geekie on his wings. That would seem to be his most likely starting spot come opening night on Wednesday. But he also skated with the likes of David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk this camp and did not look out of place. Moving him up the lineup and sliding Charlie Coyle back down to third-line center is not out of the question.
Poitras did not come out of nowhere. He was a second-round pick in 2022. His 79 assists last season ranked second in the OHL, and his 95 points (in 63 games) ranked fifth. He was already climbing the Bruins’ prospect rankings and was pretty much the consensus No. 3 in the system behind defenseman Mason Lohrei (who also had a great camp and also might win an opening-night roster spot) and winger Fabian Lysell (who had a quiet camp and will start the season in Providence).
However, it is safe to say that few thought Poitras would already be NHL-ready. And he still might not be. Regular-season games will be a tougher test than preseason games, and Poitras will have to keep elevating his game if he’s going to stick around all year. It’s still possible that the Bruins will decide that there’s enough for Poitras to work on – like defending, getting stronger, and using his shot more – that another year in juniors will be better for him.
Even if that happens, though, one thing has become clear this preseason: the Bruins found a gem in Poitras, and it looks like he’ll be ready to contribute sooner rather than later. Suddenly, the future of the center position looks much brighter, and those clouds that hung over the organization this summer are giving way to some sunlight.
Boston fans needed something to get them excited for this Bruins season after last year’s finish and the retirements of Bergeron and Krejci. The Bruins needed some young help to emerge at center. Poitras is providing both right now. Pretty soon, everyone might even learn how to pronounce his name: PAW-trah.
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