Oskar Steen is getting another chance in the National Hockey League – and he’s earned it.
Steen enjoyed a solid training camp but, with the number of bottom six candidates, the 25-year-old AHL veteran was sent back to Providence after clearing waivers.
But he did not pout about it, as so often happens with players who are close to making the cut but wind up getting sent down. He notched 3-2-5 in five games and was arguably Providence’s best forward.
So with Milan Lucic on LTIR with a foot injury and Jakub Lauko out for at least week with an ugly eye injury, Steen got the call to come up, bumping Jesper Boqvist – the first call-up – out of the lineup for the B’s Saturday tilt against the Detroit Red Wings at the Garden.
“He had a really good camp. He was playing fast and going to hard areas, playing inside the dots. It’s a real strength of his,” said coach Jim Montgomery. “Talking to the staff down in Providence, (head coach) Ryan Mougenel, he said that he’s been really impactful the last three games. When you bring guys up, you want them feeling good about their games so that they come here with confidence and he’s a confident player right now.”
At 5-foot-9 and 199 pounds, the 2016 sixth-round draft pick does not look imposing at first glance, but he’s got tree-stump legs and a low center of gravity that should help him in the areas where the B’s want him roaming, the so-called dirty areas of the ice. He scored a goal in preseason from the top of the crease.
He was admittedly crestfallen when he was sent down, but he didn’t let it affect his game.
“For sure I was disappointed. I was very close to making the team. I felt like I had a really good camp,” said Steen. “I brought that energy (to Providence) and my game has been really good, so I’m just trying to build on that… I just kept going and I was trying to think that I would be back here soon. Now I am, so that was my goal.”
Going into Saturday night, Steen had played a total of 26 NHL games over the course of the last three season, notching 3-4-7. At the age of 25, he’s getting a little long in the tooth to still be termed as a prospect. He’ll need to play with some urgency if he wants to stick for a while.
On the other, Montgomery believes there will be a lot of chances this year for players like Steen, given the makeup of the team.
“There’s just more opportunity to gain ice time this year than there was last year because of the way we are,” said Montgomery. “We’re younger, we’re a little more raw, which tends to lead to either really good performances, or sometimes not as good. It also means there’s inconsistency, so the opportunity to come in here and gain minutes is more readily available than I think it was last year.”
In 9:31 of icetime in the B’s 4-1 win over Detroit, Steen was plus-1 with two shots and two hits. the only blemish was an offensive zone hooking penalty in the second period.
“I did like his game,” said Montgomery. “I really like the part in the third where he took that shot and he bulled rushed to the net and almost banged home his own rebound. You can’t have enough of that. And I feel like out team is really good at that.”
Boqvist, meanwhile, was returned to Providence after the optional morning skate. …
Quick hits
Free agent-to-be Jake DeBrusk, expected to carry a healthy share of the offensive load, went into Saturday’s game with just two assists, prompting a chat with Montgomery in Friday’s practice.
“I actually spoke to him (Friday), just seeing where his mindset’s at. When a player talks to you, a lot of times they indirectly tell you what they’re thinking even if they don’t know that they’re doing it. That’s why I think it’s really important to listen,” said Montgomery. “There was some hesitancy in the way he was talking and there’s some hesitancy in his game. We showed him some clips of what makes him a real good player and really it’s more about talking about what makes him a real good player. The best example is the game in Anaheim. The third period I thought he took the game over with his feet and his tenaciousness on pucks. A lot of times when players don’t score, they forget that they’ve stopped working and we showed him some clips of him not using his feet to pressure pucks mostly. That creates turnovers that lead to chances. That’s primarily what our discussion was about (Friday), his mindset and working.” …
Rookie Matt Poitras is seeing a little more attention from opponents, given the way he’s been playing. After he beat the Ducks in Anaheim with two third-period goals, he caught a high-stick from Max Jones and a crosscheck from Jackson LaCombe in the game against the Ducks at the Garden on Thursday. He can expect more that.
“I think you saw that even in the Chicago game. The second time you play a team, they’re more aware of who he is. And Anaheim, obviously, his two goals led us to victory so they were very aware and obviously made a point in making it harder on him,” said Montgomery, who believes Poitras’ makeup is such that he can handle it.
“He answered every challenge so well so far. He’s a hockey player. I think he naturally competes. Anyone that’s a natural competitor is going to find a way and he seems to find a way. He took that crosscheck, Jones went after him early in the first behind the net and then he makes that great play in the second (that led to Matt Grzelcyk’s goal).”
