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Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporter
The Boston Bruins are keeping Matthew Poitras.
Boston had until Tuesday to decide whether the 19-year-old rookie would remain with the NHL club beyond nine games — and kick in the first year of his entry-level contract — or return to the Ontario Hockey League’s Guelph Storm.
Bruins’ coach Jim Montgomery didn’t need long after practice wrapped Tuesday to summarize Poitras’ status:
“He’s sticking around. He just belongs.”
Montgomery went on to say that Poitras might not remain with Boston all season. At this point though, the Bruins are impressed enough by Poitras’ early-season results to keep him in the mix.
Poitras — a second-round draft choice by Boston in 2022 — has collected three goals and five points in his nine-game stint with the Bruins. He’s provided much-needed center depth after Boston entered the season without retired veteran Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. Poitras has been consistently slotting into a second-line spot but could be moved throughout the lineup as needed.
The Toronto-area native has won over his teammates in short order, too. Earlier this week, defenseman Charlie McAvoy pointed out one area in particular that Poitras has been standing out.
“I think that’s been the biggest thing is his confidence with the puck,” McAvoy told reporters. “We’ve played a lot of teams here to start that play a man-on-man style. So tonight, you saw him tons of times just feel really confident with the puck, wherever he is in the offensive zone — whether he’s going to carry it, he’s going to hold it, protect it and wait until he sees a good play. That’s super impressive.”
Boston is off to another strong start despite losing Bergeron, Krejci and Taylor Hall from last season’s lineup. The Bruins sit atop the Atlantic Division with an 8-0-1 record, good for second place overall in the league.
