Marchand Sees Marner Similarities In Poitras

Boston Bruins rookie center Matt Poitras was the center of attention Tuesday morning as he prepared to play his fourth preseason game and his second game in as many nights.

Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery had Matt Poitras centering a line between Bruins captain Brad Marchand and winger Trent Frederic at the game day skate and ahead of the team’s preseason home finale against the Washington Capitals. Following the skate, Marchand had some high praise for the 19-year-old playmaking center who lit up the OHL last season with 79 assists and 95 points in 63 games for the Guelph Storm.

“He’s smart on both sides of the puck…the way he moves and can dish it,” Brad Marchand said when asked to give his scouting report on Poitras. “Just reminds me of [Mitch] Marner. It’s similar where he’s not timid to get into the dirty areas and compete for pucks. He’s got great vision. He does a great job of cutting to the middle and buying himself some space. He’s able to find the quiet areas where he has an extra second to make a play. Even when he’s under pressure, and guys are kind of barreling down, he finds holes. He’s got great vision, for sure.”

When notified of Marchand’s high praise, Poitras was pretty psyched.

“That’s pretty cool; that’s a good compliment,” he said with a wide smile.

Needless to say, the 35-year-old Marchand has been impressed with the Bruins’ 2022 second round (54th overall) pick but cautioned that the rigors of playing on back-to-back nights will be a big test.

“He’s definitely shown a lot of promise. He’s had a great camp so far, but he’s got to keep it going,” Marchand pointed out. “It’s gonna be tough on him tonight having a back-to-back with travel…those are things that you need to be able to show you can do at the next level is, be consistent…he’s a great little player. He’s got a bright future ahead of him.”