Matt Poitras, a rookie with the Boston Bruins, will be on the team for the 2023–24 NHL season.

Matt Poitras, a rookie with the Boston Bruins, will be on the team for the 2023–24 NHL season.

Matt Poitras will remain in Boston.

Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery declared on Tuesday morning that the 19-year-old forward will remain on the NHL squad through the end of the 2023–24 campaign.

“I believe that he deserved it for his play? “I believe we feel at ease having him around,” Montgomery remarked of Poitras. “For the remainder of the year, there are still no promises here. However, we believe that the way he’s developed, he will remain a Bruin for the foreseeable future and continue to contribute to our team’s victories. Isn’t that the most crucial factor? Since he is yet 19 years old, we will exercise caution.

For Poitras, who broke camp with the NHL team this autumn and exceeded all expectations, Halloween was going to be judgment day.

Before choosing to either keep him in the NHL full-time (and eat up the first year of his entry-level contract) or send him back to his junior team, the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League, Boston had the chance to play him in nine games during the regular season.

After nine games of trial play, the 2022 second-round pick established himself as a vital member of Boston’s forward group with three goals and five points overall.

Poitras, who began the new season in a bottom-six role, has been positioned around the Bruins’ overhauled forward corps. On Monday, he skated between Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak in the team’s overtime victory over the Panthers.

Regarding Poitras’s development since Boston’s season opener on October 11, Montgomery remarked, “I don’t know if there’s actually been developments or strides.” “He played more quickly. He has kept improving on both ends of the rink. However, I believe that what makes him interesting to us is that he constantly manages to make you feel like, “He belongs, huh?” whether it’s during exhibition season or these nine games. He simply is.

Poitras has been a consistent contributor to the scoresheet because to his ability to create plays and willingness to carry the puck into Grade-A ice.

However, the rookie pivot’s ability to withstand the increased toughness of the NHL ranks, his elusiveness, and his puck-protection practices have earned him plaudits from both his coach and teammates.

“I believe that’s the main reason he’s going to play a tenth game,” Montgomery remarked of Poitras’s perseverance and determination. We observe the talent, the hockey IQ, and the vision.

“But it’s difficult to stay in this league if you don’t finish and don’t have a natural second and third effort, especially at a young age. That’s been the best quality as to why we think he’s earned this.”

Now that Poitras is in the lineup, the Bruins can move forward Charlie Coyle down the lineup to serve as the centerpiece of their third-line unit. With Trent Frederic anchored to Coyle’s right, Boston has a formidable bottom six group that can handle challenging matchups. This lineup construction plays to Boston’s strengths up front.