One big question hanging over the Boston Bruins training camp is what will happen with prospect forward Matthew Poitras. Will he break camp with the Bruins after signing his contract last Wednesday, or will he be sent to the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL)? However, getting to the AHL would unlikely happen.
Poitras needs waivers, like fellow defenseman Frederic Brunet would, to get to the AHL. There is a very good chance he doesn't clear. Losing him that way would be a tough look and a blow for the front office. He was in the lineup for the Black and Gold's first preseason game on Sunday against the Washington Capitals. Poitras made an impression and will create some difficult decisions for the front office and second-year head coach Marco Sturm.
Matthew Poitras is glad to draw confidence from Marco Sturm
With Boston trailing 2-1 late in the third period, they had an offensive zone face-off. Sturm picked Poitras to go out and take the draw. He won the draw, and it led to Charlie McAvoy scoring the game-tying goal to force overtime in what turned into a 3-2 shootout win for the Bruins. Poitras didn't miss the trust that his head coach had in him to take the late-game offensive zone face-off.
“It’s nice to have that confidence from Marco to send me out and take the draw. And yeah, I'm just happy that I won it and happy to that we tied the game. I felt good at the dot, and just yeah, I was just trying to bear down,'' said Poitras, per Bridgette Proulx of WEEI.
The second-round pick of the 2022 Entry Draft is NHL-ready. It's clear. Now, just what the front office and Sturm end up doing remains to be seen. Poitras will survive the first round of cuts by the Black and Gold on Monday, but after that is when the big questions will be answered.
The problem is, Boston will be tasked with making a decision between Poitras and some veteran bottom-six forwards to make the roster. Right now, Poitras is looking better than Alex Steeves and brings more ot the table than Mikey Eyssimont and Lukas Reichel right now. Could that change? Sure, but unlikely. If we're being honest, fans would want to see Poitras make the roster over any of the other forwards mentioned above. Right now he's earning that spot, but still has a ways to go before the final roster cutdowns. He'll likely get more preseason action to prove he belongs.
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