Boston Bruins
“He is simply acquired to play hockey, and that is going to be the primary factor.”
The Bruins known as up one among their extra intriguing prospects on Thursday forward of their dwelling recreation towards the Flyers.
Boston recalled heart Matt Poitras up from Windfall, with the 21-year-old ahead skating on a line between Mikey Eyssimont and Marat Khusnutdinov throughout morning skate.
“Initially, he’s acquired to be himself — I don’t have to see something particular out of him,” Marco Sturm mentioned of what he desires to see from Poitras on Thursday. “I wish to see him go up and down and play actually good defensively.
“He’s going to play with a man like Kuz at this time — he’s been actually good. He’s going to have his again. However on the finish of the day, he’s simply acquired to play hockey, and that’s going to be the primary factor.”
Poitras’ call-up comes just some days after Bruins heart Elias Lindholm suffered an upper-body harm throughout Tuesday’s additional time win over the Predators. Lindholm is not going to play on Thursday, though Sturm didn’t have a definitive replace on his standing transferring ahead.
“As of proper now, day after day,” Sturm mentioned of Lindholm’s standing. “So hopefully not too lengthy. He simply had remedies yesterday. At the moment he’s going to be with the docs and so hopefully we’re going to know extra tonight.”
Thursday will stand as Poitras’ first look with Boston this season, with the playmaking ahead logging 39 video games with the Windfall Bruins this 12 months. Throughout that prolonged stretch towards AHL competitors, Poitras has scored eight targets and posted 24 whole factors.
After incomes a spot on Boston’s roster in 2023-24 as a 19-year-old, Poitras seemed like a future top-six fixture with the Bruins — recording 15 factors over 33 video games earlier than his season got here to a untimely finish as a result of harm.
Since that breakout marketing campaign, Poitras has struggled to get his footing again at hockey’s highest degree — posting 11 factors over 33 video games with Boston in 2024-25 earlier than spending one other 40 video games with Windfall.
Whereas Poitras didn’t earn a spot on Sturm’s NHL roster in October, Boston’s bench boss believes that the 2022 second-round decide has the means to stay within the NHL given his poise with the puck.
“It’s been a very long time, however I additionally bear in mind he was a man I actually trusted, particularly within the center — so I’m probably not nervous about that, and that’s why there was probably not a hesitation to name him up,” Sturm mentioned of his impressions of Poitras throughout coaching camp. “Sure, he was enjoying higher as of late in Windfall. That’s one of many causes. However on the opposite facet, we wanted a centerman and for me, he was a man, as a result of I do belief him.”
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