Matthew Poitras took Bruins training camp by storm last season, earning a spot on the NHL roster in Boston. The then 19-year-old rookie competed in 33 games before shoulder surgery cut short his campaign in February.
Fast-forward to training camp, which began earlier this week. Poitras is once again battling for a roster spot with the big club, and he has no intention of slowing down.
“I want to be here,” Poitras told reporters on Thursday, per the team. “I want to be able to show that I belong here and that they really don’t have a choice — you gotta keep me here.”
Poitras added to his case when he stepped into the top center position with Elias Lindholm missed practice on Friday and the Bruins annual Black and Gold Scrimmage on Satruday. The 20-year-old second-round draft pick wasted no time getting on the board with the Bruins. Poitras collected the loose puck off the endboard, skated up ice and beat Ryan Bischel for one of the Black team’s six goals.
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“Poitras had a good game,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters after the scrimmage, per Boston Hockey Now’s Andrew Fantucchio. “He was good around the puck. He had the puck a lot, and that’s his game, so it was good. We’ll see him on the wing, and we’ll see where he looks best.”
Even though it was a scrimmage, it was the first game action Poitras had seen since Jan. 25.
“It’s early in camp, and that was the first game I’ve played in a while, so I’m just getting comfortable playing,” Poitras said, per Fantucchio. “There was a little bit of rust, and there were some plays I’d like to have back, but I felt pretty good. My legs felt good. I’ve never really sat out for this kind of length of an injury, so it’s all new to me. I think just getting reps in and getting more and more comfortable, getting hit a little bit, gets you into that game atmosphere.”
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On the first day of camp, Poitras played right wing while Trent Frederic centered the line. In Lindholm’s absence, he skated down the middle with Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak flanked on his wing. He made it clear either spot is fine with him.
“I’ve played wing in the past, and I’m comfortable there,” Poitras said, per team-provided video. “Obviously, it’s a little bit less skating than center, so it’s maybe reserving a bit more energy for playing offense, where I like to hold pucks down low and having more energy for that would be good
“I’m just ready to play wherever, whether it’s center or winger. It’s just wherever I fit in best.”
The Bruins have plenty of depth this year, with Pastrnak, Zacha, Lindholm, Charlie Coyle and Brad Marchand leading the top two lines and the emergence of Frederic, Morgan Geekie, Johnny Beecher and Justin Brazeau last season. Boston also added Max Jones and Mark Kastelic on the first day of free agency, so Poitras could be battling with Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov for a roster spot. It would not be out of the question for Poitras to spend some time in Providence during his sophomore campaign.
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