Bruins Rookie Matt Poitras Focusing On Development Amid Changing Role
The Boston Bruins continue to balance results with the development of their 19-year-old rookie forward.
Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports - Bruins Rookie Matt Poitras Focusing On Development Amid Changing RoleBRIGHTON, Mass. – Matt Poitras is hanging in there.
The 19-year-old rookie whose stellar training camp performance earned him a surprise roster spot on a Boston Bruins team looking to compete in the playoffs is fighting to retain his spot in the lineup.
The Bruins have planned scratches for Poitras for the sake of rest/recovery, such as not playing him in back-to-back games. However, the former third-line center was bumped down to the fourth-line wing on Monday in Boston’s 4-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets.
Poitras has played on the wing in juniors, and he expressed he feels comfortable there but acknowledged the differences in the role.
“Centers have a bit more of a responsibility in the D-zone,” Poitras said on Tuesday. “A lot more skating. So I think wing, you can kind of simplify your game. You don’t have to maybe think as much in the D-zone. There’s different responsibilities, but I think it’s just a bit less skating.”
Despite this change, however long it may last, Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said he doesn’t consider it to be a demotion, viewing the entire bottom six as interchangeable.
That said, there’s a reason why players like Morgan Geekie and Jakub Lauko – who are each on three-game point streaks – are playing on the third line with Trent Frederic and producing. Poitras, meanwhile, has just one shot on goal in his last five games and has no points in the past four. Some nights he’ll be on the ice for 12-plus minutes, while others will see Montgomery leave him on the bench late in the game and cut his playing time to single-digits.
Part of that, according to Montgomery, has to do with the team playing well before and since Poitras returned to the team from World Juniors. Patience from both Poitras and Bruins management will be key for his development, but it’s clear Montgomery has to see growth if Poitras wants to expand his role by the end of the season and into the playoff push.
“I’m hoping [he] generates offensive and defensive plays and stops, execute our system, bring energy on the bench,” Montgomery said on Tuesday. “That’s what you have to do to get more minutes when you’re on one of the bottom six roles.”
Poitras will be scratched against the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday as part of the team’s load management plan for him, but he still tries to take steps to improve his mental side despite not getting in the game physically.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC2ved5v1Gc[/embed]
“Just kind of watching and trying to learn about, like when we have a lead 2-1, kind of what it takes,” Poitras said on Tuesday. “Seeing some of the older guys, kind of just gotta fight for every inch and when you get lines, you put it deep, and just you gotta just play the right way and do whatever you can to hold the lead.”
Unlike a tanking team with no expectations, Boston isn’t willing to keep Poitras out there and let him play through his growing pains. Finding the balance is the fine line the Bruins have walked all season, and they’ll continue to do so until injuries – or Poitras himself – forces their hand.
Other Links: