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Player Discussion Matthew Poitras

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PlayMakers said:
Yeah, but those guys aren’t centers, they don’t do as much heavy lifting in the Dzone. There aren‘t a ton of small/light top6 centers, and the ones who are, have elite speed or unusually strong legs.

I think for Poitras to reach that next level over the next 2-3 years, he’s going to have to get one of those qualities.
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Getting stronger will definitely help him . He's 19 years old, just like the many that came before him he will gain strength especially if he works at it which I'm sure he'll do. Speed on the other hand will be more difficult. While he can improve he's not likely to become a speedster.
 
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JOKER 192 said:
Getting stronger will definitely help him . He's 19 years old, just like the many that came before him he will gain strength especially if he works at it which I'm sure he'll do. Speed on the other hand will be more difficult. While he can improve he's not likely to become a speedster.
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According to Dom, he's a very hard worker in the gym, so I'm sure he'll add strength. You can get more explosive in the gym too. He's already got quick feet which you can see by the way he shakes guys with those punch turns along the walls. In terms of straight line speed, I think he can get a lot more out of his strides. Bergeron did a lot of this in the off-season too, making his strides longer and more efficient.
 
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PlayMakers said:
Wingers don't work the boards all night anymore, they fly the Dzone to push the D back and open up underneath for the center and weak side D to break pucks out. The NHL has been converting small, skilled centers to wing for decades now.

I agree that if someone wants to hurt him it doesn't matter what size he is. I would also agree that he has a Brayden Point like determination to go into the dirty areas and win puck battles so he may be one of the rare small/light centers that teams let stay at center.

I still think he needs to add either strength or speed to get to that next level.
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When our defensemen throw the puck up the boards (which happens a lot), who is there to compete for the puck? Wingers flying the zone isn't exactly a hallmark of the Bruins playbook.
 
On their Ray and Dregs podcast, Ray Ferraro and Darren Dreger have both said Poitras should stay in Boston. They said he's similar to Wyatt Johnston in Dallas. They question whether system and culture matter (discussion for a different thread) and say it does in Boston and Poitras fits it. I wish they had gone more in depth but you can tell this was recorded on the fly.
 
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PlayMakers said:
Wingers have been flying the zone since Cassidy took over. It’s a staple of the Bruins playbook.
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I would disagree.

Now, to me it seems the Bruins give up more breakaways than they create with forwards flying the zone. If there is a stat that can verify or dispel that notion, it would be very welcomed.
 
Dr Hook said:
*cough* Bruce *cough*
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MarchysNoseKnows said:
jhanhky.substack.com

Matt Poitras...Bergeron 2.0?

In the wake of BOS' hot start, too many similarities to ignore
jhanhky.substack.com jhanhky.substack.com

Really interesting from Jack Han, who really knows his stuff. Note: you don't need to subscribe to read despite the popups about it.
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Watching Poitras in the Prospects Challenge games the Bergy vibes in his play away from the puck were hard to ignore. His tenacity and positioning in his own zone when the other team is trying to break out is so Bergy-esque as well. Han does a nice job of showing some of the similarities.
 
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Dennis Bonvie said:
I would disagree.

Now, to me it seems the Bruins give up more breakaways than they create with forwards flying the zone. If there is a stat that can verify or dispel that notion, it would be very welcomed.
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You are welcome to disagree but I watch their practices. I coach and so I go there to learn.

Cassidy changed from Julien’s 5man breakout to two wingers flying the zone as soon as we got possession in the Dzone. He wanted stretch passes and if they were closed off he relied on 2D and the C to break it out low.

Monty tweaked this but he still has 2 guys fly the zone. He keeps one W in the zone and has the backside W fly and the C get up ice as well. He uses the backside D in front of the net as the “C” coming up the middle of the Dzone with the puck. They haven’t been super clean executing this and it’s led to some bad turnovers but that’s what they do when they practice their breakouts.
 
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McGarnagle said:
If Bruce were here Poitras and Beecher would be healthy scratches and Danton Heinen and Jayson Megna would be in the top 6
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You talking about same Bruce who made playoff here 6 times straight with finals appearance & won Cup 1st yr out of Boston? Asking for a friend :laugh: Not to highjack thread ,Matt Poitras been fun to watch and sure hope he turns out as another great 2nd rd find.
 
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PlayMakers said:
You are welcome to disagree but I watch their practices. I coach and so I go there to learn.

Cassidy changed from Julien’s 5man breakout to two wingers flying the zone as soon as we got possession in the Dzone. He wanted stretch passes and if they were closed off he relied on 2D and the C to break it out low.

Monty tweaked this but he still has 2 guys fly the zone. He keeps one W in the zone and has the backside W fly and the C get up ice as well. He uses the backside D in front of the net as the “C” coming up the middle of the Dzone with the puck. They haven’t been super clean executing this and it’s led to some bad turnovers but that’s what they do when they practice their breakouts.
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Well, I can't argue that. You are there, I am not.

But that is practice. In actual games, seems to me there are wingers up the boards an awful lot when the defensemen are pressured behind there own net. Of course those are the situations when the Bruins have the most trouble as many of their wingers aren't very good in those situations.
 
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Dennis Bonvie said:
But that is practice. In actual games, seems to me there are wingers up the boards an awful lot when the defensemen are pressured behind there own net. Of course those are the situations when the Bruins have the most trouble as many of their wingers aren't very good in those situations.
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For sure. Games are chaotic and unscripted. They will come out of their zone a hundred different ways in a game, and like I said, Monty does like to keep 1 winger on the wall (it's the other two forwards that are trying to get up ice ahead of the play), so you will see plenty of passes to a wing on the wall, but if the other guys do their job and get up ice there should be less pressure on that winger to make a play or battle to get it out.
 
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[/QUOTE]
ON3M4N said:
Maybe, but in the 6 playoff appearance under Bruce the Bruins only got past the 2nd round once. The one time of course being a SCF appearance where the Bruins fell short. If you remove that SCF run, the Bruins had a record of 21-28 under Cassidy in the playoffs. With that SCF run, the Bruins were just under .500 in the playoffs under Cassidy.
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What a terrible take. Cassidy has coached two teams to a SCF and won once and lost in a G7. Cassidy record with Boston the way you defined it is more a reflection of the team not being in the same league as TB. So lets remove TB from the equation, which makes as much sense as removing an entire years run and Cassidy is 19-20 with the possibility of winning another series and doesn't look as bad as your trying to make him look.
 
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Of the 951 players who played at least one game during the 2022-23 season, there were 215 who were less than 6 feet tall -- meaning 23% of the NHL players who played at least one game were less than 6 feet tall. Every team in the NHL had at least one player who is less than 6 feet tall on its roster this season

abc7chicago.com

Does height still matter for NHL draft prospects?

Connor Bedard is 5-10 and considered a generational talent. Jack Hughes is lighting up the NHL. So, should height still matter when NHL teams are evaluating players?
abc7chicago.com abc7chicago.com
 
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I was surprised that it was not pointed out on the broadcast tonight (on any of the replays) that Poitras' goal actually started with him retrieving the puck behind his own goal line (as the second guy back, covering for a defenseman). He went to the far corner, got the puck and then 5 seconds later he was on a breakaway for the goal.

Also, "Pasta&Pahtra" will be a thing soon.
 
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one of my kids today heard somebody on the radio say “matty paw-truh” and with no hesitation he sang the Encanto song

Ayeeee mariposa!

So his nickname in this household is now Mariposa

And Mariposa has single handedly renewed my love of hockey. I came into the season pretty low since that horrible Panthers series. Seeing Poitras playing this well makes me happy.
 
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