From out of nowhere to a pleasant surprise.
Matt Poitras’ 2024 rating: 7
The Bruins had a few guys who kind of came out of nowhere (relatively speaking) to make an impact last season, including Mason Lohrei and Justin Brazeau.
Neither of those guys came with the hype of Matt Poitras, however, as the campaign to keep the youngster with the big club began in training camp and continued right through opening night.
Ultimately, Poitras’ rookie season has to be considered a rousing success, even if it was cut short due to injury.
The rookie center, who didn’t turn 20 until March, recorded 5 goals and 10 assists during his 33-game stint, with all 15 of those points coming during his first 28 games.
Poitras showed no signs of being out of place at the NHL level as he made his debut, recording an assist in his first game and notching his first two-goal night four games later.
While a bit undersized, Poitras held up to NHL physicality fairly well and showed plenty of creativity and offensive potential.
As one might have expected, Poitras began to lose steam as his rookie season went on.
He ended up a healthy scratch for a game or two as winter began, then was released to play for Canada at the World Junior Championships as his NHL game hit a bit of a wall.
Poitras had a decent tournament with Canada, but was injured in a game against Arizona in mid-January.
He’d appear in three more games before ending up on the shelf, then mount a rehab attempt before being shut down for the season with shoulder surgery.
Poitras was back with the B’s at this summer’s rookie camp, where he gave positive updates on his rehabilitation.
When we sat here at this time last summer, Poitras looked a long shot to make his NHL debut, let alone make the Opening Night roster.
He raised eyebrows in preseason, looked at home during the regular season, and, with an offseason of conditioning under his belt, should be back strong in October.
If he’s fully recovered from his shoulder surgery, he should give the Bruins another enticing option up front.
Throw a healthy Poitras in with the recently signed Elias Lindholm, and suddenly the Bruins’ center depth may no longer be much of an issue.
Ideally, Poitras can continue to make strides in the upcoming season and grow on his rookie campaign.
Until then, we can all consider his 2023-2024 season a successful one.