Matt Poitras, the pace of NHL development and the Bruins’ ticking clock

BOSTON Matt Poitras has played two years of pro hockey.

He made the Boston Bruins out of training camp each time.

This is no small thing.

Not even David Pastrnak turned the trick.

Going three-for-three is no guarantee.

The 2022 second-round pick has 66 games of NHL experience.

It is the 10th-highest sum of players from his draft class.

Advertisement But what Poitras accomplished within the 66-game sample has yet to shape, with any clarity, what he could become.

His rookie season was cut short following shoulder surgery.

Last year, a 1-10-11 line while averaging 13:05 of ice time per appearance convinced his employer to assign him to Providence to finish out the run.

Poitras learned over an eight-game playoff grind against Springfield and Charlotte just how difficult the AHL can be.

I felt like it really tightened up out there compared to the regular season, said Poitras (two goals and two assists in the playoffs).

Especially in that first series against Springy.

They were over top of everything.

There wasnt too much out there.

Springfield trained its sights on Poitras.

He didnt back down.

Seeing him play in the playoffs and take some runs at guys, just being strong and strong on pucks, player development coordinator Adam McQuaid said of Poitras postseason.

Part of that is just the physical maturation.

Hes grown.

Hes filling out.

He knows what to expect now.

McQuaid and his co-workers, however, cannot project with any certainty whether Poitras will make varsity for the third straight season, to say nothing of whether he can make an NHL impact.

In a way, Poitras preseason appearance out of nowhere as a 19-year-old in 2023 set the bar higher than what could be considered fair.

He is still 21, younger than Viktor Arvidsson (32) and Pavel Zacha (28) and Casey Mittelstadt (26), some of his in-house competitors for top-nine responsibilities.

Hes still super young, McQuaid said.

Thats the thing, right? When youre a young guy and you start out here, sometimes you can feel like its a step back.

And thats not the case with him at all.

But time is a precious commodity, even for a transitory club like the Bruins.

If Fraser Minten, for example, defines himself as a more reliable forward during camp, the organization will place the ex-Toronto Maple Leaf above Poitras on the depth chart.

In rookie coach Marco Sturms system, the center is critical to turning defense into offense.

Those, Sturm said of his pivots, are the brains for me.

You would think the rebuilding Bruins would give a playmaking center like Poitras enough room to play his way into the league this fall.

But for as well as he performed during the last two camps, Poitras could not find similar regular-season traction.

Advertisement General manager Don Sweeneys additions, meanwhile, signal the degree of confrontation with which he wants the 2025-26 Bruins to play.

Even if their offensive ceilings are limited, there is no questioning the pain-in-the-neck nature of Arvidsson, Tanner Jeannot, Sean Kuraly and Mikey Eyssimont.

They are forechecking animals.

Poitras is more of a slippery and cerebral forward.

Ex-coaches Joe Sacco and Jim Montgomery hesitated to give Poitras shifts when he was not making plays.

Poitras preseason mandate, then, is to build the periphery of his game while pushing the pace.

Otherwise, Providence will be his starting point.

Its just about being consistent, Poitras said.

Coming strong out of the gate and maintaining that throughout the year.

At times, Poitras showed he can grow into a No.

2 NHL center.

Its up to him to prove that could be the case.

The bosses will also be monitoring whether prospects like Poitras can become reliable NHL contributors.

In that way, this could be one of Fabian Lysells final opportunities to make his case.

The 2021 first-rounder had a 12-game showcase last year.

He scored his first NHL goal.

He has the speed and skill to be the No.

2 right wing behind Pastrnak.

But Lysell also failed to score a single goal when he returned to Providence for last years playoffs.

Lysell, 22, is starting his fourth professional season.

His career high was 15 goals in 56 games for Providence in 2023-24.

So far, Lysell has yet to define himself as a dependable NHLer, either as a goal scorer or defensive forward.

I just want to show that Im an older player in such a way that I can take more responsibility on the ice, said Lysell.

Thats a big part weve talked about now for a couple years.

Thats probably going to be my main focus in camp, those details not just with the puck but without the puck and being responsible in that way.

The Bruins acquired Minten and Will Zellers at last years trade deadline.

They had the chance to draft James Hagens and Will Moore because of their 27th-place finish.

The next wave is coming.

Whether Poitras and Lysell will be a part of it is up to them.

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