BOSTON — Fraser Minten has played in the NHL before while he was with the Toronto Maple Leafs. But the 20-year-old center never played in Boston, so things felt pretty new to him.
While Minten, who was summoned by the Bruins from Providence on Saturday morning, didn’t show up on the score sheet, Minten was strong on the boards during the Bruins’ 5-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes and logged 14:59 of ice time.
Sacco’s message to Minten, who was acquired by the Bruins in a trade that sent Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs, was to just play your game and play to your strengths.
“All of the things that (president) Cam (Neely) reported about him held true tonight,” coach Joe Sacco said after the game. “He won some key faceoffs in the defensive zone on his off side, which is not easy to do as a young player. But he got tested a couple times in the third period on his off side. He did a really good job digging in, wining faceoffs. You can see that there’s a hockey sense in his game.”
David Pastrnak admitted he didn’t have a lot of time to talk to Minten on Saturday, but he’s looking forward to seeing what he can bring to the Bruins.
“He seems like a really nice kid, super humble,” Pastrnak said. “He had a couple chances and his big-body moves pretty well. Can’t wait to see more of him, and happy he got the 1st game as a Bruin under his belt.”
Whether Minten will play on Sunday against the Buffalo Sabres remains to be seen. But with five games left, and the Bruins eliminated from playoff contention, it might be worth keeping the newcomer in the lineup for the remaining five games.
