Boston Bruins training camp began with something of an edict, something of a challenge from Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney.

"The younger players, we're going to look for them to surprise us with taking lineup spots,” Sweeney said last month at the Boston Bruins Foundation Golf Outing. “But, what we've done is insulate our group of guys with a competitive group from the bottom up and allow some of this younger skill, hopefully from within, now and moving forward, is going to emerge."

Sweeney was emphatic on that point at both of his media availabilities before training camp opened. He wanted it to be crystal clear that there's a massive opportunity for youngsters in the Bruins organization.

"Guys can go out and take advantage of opportunities… You've got to take somebody's job in this league.” Sweeney said, “It's just too hard not to think that you're just going to walk in and somebody's just going to give you an open chair. It just doesn't happen.

"So, you've got to go out and earn it, and take it, and then just keep it, and hold on to it for as long as you can and thrive. So they should be very excited about where camp is and the opportunities that sit in front of them.”

Those words have rung true. In the past three weeks, since Sweeney spoke, nothing but opportunities for the young guys. Matej Blumel's been stapled inside the top nine and on the second powerplay unit. Alex Steeves received time with multiple NHLers, even cracking the penalty kill in Boston's most recent preseason game. Matthew Poitras played on both special teams.

All three have already played three preseason games. So too has Fraser Minten, arguably the best of the entire bunch. Minten's not the flashiest player, nor does he have the highest-scoring ceiling amongst forwards. 

Steeves and Minten both initially started in Toronto, and both landed in Boston in the past year. Minten's blossoming is not something that surprised Steeves in the least.

"I think my biggest takeaway from Fraser is just his emotional maturity for a kid of his age," Steeves told The Hockey News. "I think he's a natural leader and a really good kid. Everyone leads in different ways, and I think, regardless of what your leadership style is, you just need to be yourself, and I see him as someone who is just himself every day."

That natural leader quality is something that's quietly shown through in little things Minten does. After a preseason game in Madison Square Garden, Minten did something Patrice Bergeron would do. Fist bump each one of his teammates as they left the ice.

All that competition could end up creating friction between guys competing for spots. Not in Boston, and certainly not for Minten.

"I think there are a lot of great guys in this room," Minten told The Hockey News. "In pro hockey, you're all trying to break in and have the ability to play up and down the line-up, the ability to be reliable, be hard-working, contribute in different ways. It's nice to have some guys around who are in the same spot as you." 

Still, Minten could end up being the best all-around player of the bunch. Not only has he displayed that he's NHL-ready, but he's the exact type of player who teams win with. Since camp began, one player Minten's skated with more than anyone is Tanner Jeannot.

For Minten, the opportunity to skate with and learn from Jeannot is something he relishes.

"It's nice," Minten told The Hockey News. "It gives [me] pro experience and a big body that works hard and plays the right way out there. Just a reliable guy who's easy to play with, does everything the right way, and is a great guy, a great teammate."

As for Jeannot? He's full of praise for Minten.

"[For me], playing with him as a center, you kind of rely a lot on your center," Jeannot told The Hockey News. "He did a really good job communicating and talking. He never felt out of place out there, and I think he's just gonna keep building his game.

"He's a great player, and he's gonna keep building on it."

That's a sentiment Steeves echoed when he spoke to The Hockey News about Minten.

"He wants to get better, which is a valuable thing to any locker room," Steeves told The Hockey News. "On the ice, he's just kind of your prototypical two-way center, really responsible, he's got pretty solid puck skills, stuff like that. But, I think it's important to remember how young he is. 

"You’ve got to just allow him every day to lean into the resources they have here, and I know because of the guy he is, he'll continue to get better and better."

It's high praise from two distinctly different players. One, a hard-working journeyman competing for a spot alongside him. The other is a hard-nosed veteran player with plenty of experience.

Jeannot further praised Minten, detailing just what makes Minten stick out.

"He's obviously got a lot of talent," Jeannot told The Hockey News. "I think he sees the game really well. He almost slows it down a little bit, which is a pretty good skill to have. Not a lot of guys have that. So, I think he's coming [to the NHL], and he's had a really good showing."

Minten's ability to slow a game down is incredibly valuable. Every team runs through its centers, and the Bruins are no different. Slowing the game down does not mean playing slow. It's almost the opposite. It means not overthinking, and not panicking with the puck.

The ability to move fast throughout a system and make the right plays efficiently is how you slow the game down, even if you're playing in a speed-based system like the one of Bruins Head Coach Marco Sturm's.

After Minten's second preseason game, one against the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden, Sturm praised Minten's game.

"On both sides of the ice, he was not trying to do too much," Sturm said. "Whereas a lot of young guys might try to [do too much]. He was better today. I talked to him about his first game [and trying to do too much]. It was I think he said he was too excited, too. He made some mistakes then.

"He was just reliable on both sides of the rink, and I liked him. You know when anytime I'm looking for a player at the end of a game, I think it's a good sign. He was one of them."

As Sturm alluded to, he's earning his coach's trust. In his third preseason game, Sturm remarked he felt all the youngsters are still thinking just a little too much, Minten included. Still, Sturm said he liked the structure of the team, with everyone having things to work on.

Minten spoke with The Hockey News between his second and third preseason games. 

"I think there's always a bit of nerves in the first game in an NHL building after four or five months off," Minten told The Hockey News. "So yeah, I'd say I felt, like I said earlier, a little more comfortable and better [in my second game].

"Yeah, I felt like my second game was better. I had more poise with the puck, played with some more poise generally, and overall probably played a better game, yeah."

Minten's stock has continually risen throughout camp. Right now, he's the favorite to become the Bruins' third-line center when the puck drops a week from today. Minten, who arrived via a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs last March, has settled in very nicely in Boston.

"As soon as you put the logo on, it's pretty special," Minten told The Hockey News. "Honestly, it's a dream come true to be a part of a team like this, so I'm just really grateful to be here, and it feels good so far."

The Bruins still have two preseason games left, and a lot of decision to make about the roster. If Minten doesn't make the team, there are two reasons. One is that he's waiver exempt, something John Beecher, Steeves, and Marat Khusnutdinov are not. All three could get plucked.

Secondly, Boston has a ton of players who can play center. Minten, Beecher, Poitras, Pavel Zacha, Casey Mittelstadt, and Sean Kuraly make up the center options behind Elias Lindholm on line one. Sturm's shifted Poitras to the wing in recent times, while Zacha's back on the left wing with Mittelstadt centering the second line.

Over the next four days featuring two games and two practices, things will get much clearer

The Bruins' season begins in one week in Washington, DC. Don't be surprised if Minten's not only in the lineup, but ends up becoming a massive X-factor for the Bruins this season.