Matthew Poitras, a rookie center with the Boston Bruins, has appeared to have reached the typical rookie wall as he has only provided one assist in his last six games and one goal and two assists in his past ten.Jim Montgomery, the head coach of the Boston Bruins, was asked by Boston Globe reporter Jim McBride during his pre-game media availability, just under two hours before kickoff for his team’s game against the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Florida, if there is anything Montgomery and his coaching staff can do to jumpstart the 19-year-old rookie.
“You can place him in advantageous circumstances, such as offensive zone starts, but he needs to get himself going,” Montgomery retorted.
Since he first emerged from training camp and was added to the Boston Bruins squad for the 2023–24 season, Montgomery has never before openly challenged Poitras. Poitras dominated his nine-game regular season audition and even drew similarities to the recently retired former Bruins captain and future hall of famer Patrice Bergeron, so there wasn’t really anything to challenge. With three goals and two assists in his first nine games, Poitras had his new head coach swooning due to his mature, gritty, two-way play.
In response to Halloween, Jim Montgomery stated, “I think his play, he’s earned it.” We seem to be at ease with him. Though there are still no promises for the remainder of the season, we believe that given his current growth, he will remain a Bruin for the time being and contribute to our team’s victories, which is what matters most. Since he is yet 19 years old, we will exercise caution.
Montgomery continued by going into great detail about Poitras’s reasons for remaining.
That, in my opinion, is the main reason Montgomery mentioned for his decision to play a tenth game. “We can tell that you have hockey IQ, skill, and vision, but at such a young age, you don’t have natural second and third effort if you don’t compete. This league is difficult to stay in, and that’s been its characteristic. The strongest argument for why we believe he deserves this
Montgomery has tried to work with Poitras and put him in favorable positions, even though his offensive game has taken a hit. He has also continued to encourage Poitras when he evaluated his performance for the media. But it seems like the current Jack Adams Award winner has chosen to adopt a different strategy and give Poitras some tough love. On Wednesday night, he was once again anticipated to skate between Trent Frederic and Jake DeBrusk.
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