Boston Bruins
“He was a steal for us.”
TAMPA — The Bruins might have a future star in Fraser Minten.
The 21-year-old center was recognized by the NHL on Sunday as the league’s Rookie of the Month for January.
Minten played a key part in Boston’s 11-2-1 record in January, leading all rookies with eight goals while tying for the league lead with 14 points over 14 games.
Minten — who was acquired by the Bruins at last year’s trade deadline in a deal with the Maple Leafs — is the first Bruins player to win Rookie of the Month honors since Jeremy Swayman in March 2022.
“He was a steal for us,” Marco Sturm of plucking Minten from Toronto. “He just has that quality, I would say, to be up and down the lineup right away at his early age.”
Initially projected to be a steady, two-way presence who could anchor a third line, Minten is already showcasing a higher upside.
But, after starting the season serving in more of a shutdown role with Mark Kastelic and Tanner Jeannot, Minten’s offensive production has taken off after getting reps further up the depth chart.
Over his last 31 games, Minten has scored 11 goals and posted 23 points — an over-60-point pace if spread out over the span of an 82-game season.
The Bruins will need to rely on Minten on Sunday in Boston’s Stadium Series matchup against the Lightning. Boston will be without its two top-six centers in Elias Lindholm and Pavel Zacha, both of whom will miss the team’s outdoor game due to upper-body injuries.
As such, the Bruins’ top-three centers on Sunday will have an average age of 21.6 on Sunday between Minten (21 years old), Marat Khusnutdinov (23 years old), and Matt Poitras (21 years old).
Minten will center a line between Viktor Arvidsson and Casey Mittelstadt on Sunday. That trio dominated the Flyers on Thursday, outscoring Philadelphia, 3-0, in under 11 minutes of 5-on-5 action.
Khusnutdinov will likely skate alongside David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie, while Poitras — playing his second game of the season with Boston — will center a line with Tanner Jeannot and Mark Kastelic.
Khusnutdinov has had plenty of success with Pastrnak this season. During the 312 minutes of 5-on-5 reps that the duo have logged together this season, the Bruins have outscored opponents, 22-10.
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