BOSTON — Matthew Poitras earned a spot on the Bruins’ roster in his first year in professional hockey but was sidelined just 33 games in due to a shoulder injury.
The forward had surgery on his right shoulder during his time away and had a good recovery.
“For me, I feel really good,” Poitras said after Day 1 of development camp. “Obviously don’t want to rush things. It’s still the start of July and we got two more months until camp starts so don’t want to rush anything.”
With the three months Poitras spent off the ice, he focused on adding weight to fit more in with a typical NHL player. Poitras is 5-foot-11, 180 pounds so he thought it was best to focus on becoming bigger for his next season in Boston.
In the time off the ice, he gained around eight to nine pounds.
“For a guy like me, I’m not too tall or too big so that was kind of a good time to get in the gym and put some weight on,” Poitras said. “So, I put some weight on, and I feel thicker.”
Despite the limitations Poitras had, his offseason was routine for him except for being limited in the gym. A month ago, though, he started to go back to a normal gym routine as he has recovered.
With “being in the offseason” for five months, the 20-year-old is eager to get back on the ice with the Bruins.
“I’m pretty excited to get through the summer,” Poitras said. “I’m still going to take it day-by-day but I’m excited to get to camp and get into playing games.”
