BOSTON — As he skated from the right wing faceoff dot toward the right post, Fraser Minten saw David Pastrnak, from the corner of his eye, setting up in the slot.
The Bruins rookie thought about passing it to him. Passing to Pastrnak is never a bad idea.
“I thought about passing to him first, but I saw that they all thought that Dave was going to get the puck too,” he said.
So instead, he sent a nifty backhand pass to Nikita Zadorov attacking from the left side. The Rangers defense did overload on Pastrnak giving the defenseman a clear look that he snapped in, giving the Bruins an early 1-0 lead in their preseason finale against the Rangers on Saturday.
“Z made a really good read there jumping in,” Minten said.
He processed his options and made a decision, then a pass that led to a goal in far less time than it took him to explain it.
His quick mind is just one of the things that has made him a favorite of new coach Marco Sturm, who has been impressed with his maturity since camp started.
The Bruins sent Minten to the prospect tournament before the start of varsity training camp, an unusual assignment for a player who has already spent some time in the NHL. But Minten embraced the opportunity and made an early impression on his coach.
“I like this kid,” Sturm said. “He came in ready to go. He played like a man. He didn’t complain about the rookie tournament. He just did his job on and off the ice.”
It’s been pretty evident since early in camp that Minten was good enough to make the opening night roster. But because he doesn’t need to clear waivers to be sent down. He needed to be good enough for the Bruins to risk losing another player to keep him.
The Bruins haven’t told him that he’ll fly with the team to Washington for Wednesday’s game, but it would be a surprise if the 21-year-old wasn’t centering the opening night third line.
“He’s the one guy who surprised me,” Sturm said on Friday. “He’s very reliable for me, how he is off the ice. He’s more like a man already than a little kid or teenager, a kid who just comes into the league. I’m really impressed with that.”
When he came to Boston at the trade deadline in the deal for Brandon Carlo, Minten’s defensive play was already advanced for his age and experience, while his offense was a work in progress.
He’s confident he can contribute to scoring, but he had prioritized defense first.
“It’s more like ‘Show me you’re not going to hurt me before you show me you can help me,’” he explained. “Be good defensively first and when chances come I’m going to do my best to put them in the net.
“You’re focusing on doing what the coaches want and being reliable. That’s how you get minutes,” he explained. “With minutes in an 82 game season, you’re going to get chances. It’s about getting out there, getting minutes, getting the coach’s trust and the chances will come.
He’s got the trust part down.
“I like him. Again today. He was very, very solid. That’s the way I want him to play.” Sturm said. “He brings a lot already. I’m very happy with his game.”
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
