Bruins’ Matthew Poitras already off to great start with Team Canada originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
It didn’t take Boston Bruins center Matthew Poitras very long to make a strong impact on Team Canada in their preparation for the upcoming 2024 World Junior Championships in Sweden.
Poitras was the Canadians’ first-line center Friday morning when they played against Switzerland in a pre-tournament exhibition game.
He doubled Canada’s lead to 4-2 in the second period when he capitalized on a scoring chance in front of the net. Conor Geekie, the brother of Poitras’ Bruins teammate Morgan Geekie, picked up the primary assist with the nice pass.
The Bruins assigned Poitras to Team Canada earlier this week. The WJC will give him a nice break from the grind of NHL hockey, while also giving him some valuable experience in high-pressure situations against top players his age. The World Juniors is a huge deal in Canada, and the expectations for these players are sky high.
Poitras figures to play a prominent role for Canada during the tournament. He’ll be one of the top-six centers along with Macklin Celebrini, who currently plays for Boston University and is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
Canada’s group stage schedule begins next Tuesday, Dec. 26 against the Czech Republic.
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