Poitras channels Marner as he slots in as Canada's top-line centre

Team Canada practised at the Limhamn Arena in Malmo, Sweden on Thursday. 

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In his first practice since being loaned to Team Canada by the Boston Bruins, Matt Poitras skated as the top-line centre between Conor Geekie and Matt Savoie. 

"He's just an all-around player," said Savoie. "He's fast. He's smart. He has a good shot. He's always around the puck. It was fun being with him today on a line." 

"He's a really good skater," observed Geekie. "He's super solid on his feet. Obviously, his vision and playmaking are good as well, but I think, to me, what stands out is his skating and his tight turns. He always finds a way to get out of tight spots whereas a guy like me really struggles with that." 

Geekie and Savoie, who play together with the Wenatchee Wild in the Western Hockey League, did not get on the scoresheet during Canada's first exhibition game on Tuesday against an under-25 team from Denmark. 

"He's a guy that makes people around him better," said Team Canada head coach Alan Letang. "He'll distribute the puck pretty good to Geeks and Savvy."

"We're three pretty skilled guys," said Poitras, who has five goals and eight assists in 27 games with the Bruins. "If we play our game, we should be able to produce."

Poitras produced plenty of offence last season in the Ontario Hockey League. He piled up 79 assists in 63 games with the Guelph Storm. 

"He's an amazing passer," said Team Canada defenceman Oliver Bonk, who plays for the London Knights and is the son of former NHLer Radek Bonk. "Probably some of the best vision I've ever seen."

"I've always been a pass-first guy, so it's always coming to me naturally," Poitras explained. "That's the way I like to play."

Poitras watches a lot of hockey and keeps a close eye on the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

"I love watching Marner," he said. "He's pretty silky and he sees the ice pretty well. He's kind of who I try to model my game after, so watching him helps."

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Geekie, who played centre in Tuesday's game, is shifting to left wing.  

"Conor can be heavy in the corners and maybe it gives him a little more jump and little bit more touches," Letang said. 

"I played it when I was 15, 16," the Arizona Coyotes prospect said. "Obviously, I have to work on it a little bit. I'm not used to it yet but hoping to get there."

The biggest adjustment? 

"I'm not always going to be able to move," Geekie said. "At centre you're always moving, you're always being in the play and that helped me maintain my speed, which helped me get the puck a lot more. On the wing you probably get more puck touches, but you're not always at full speed. You're always in between a standstill and going so, for me, it's trying to find that balance."

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Poitras is still shaking off some jet lag after landing in Sweden early Tuesday morning. 

"It was definitely nice to get on the ice and get my legs under me," he said. "I mean, it felt pretty good despite the travel and not getting a lot of sleep."

"He was fine out here," Letang said. "It looked like he had some jump."

The native of Whitby, Ont., doesn't have much time to get up to speed. Canada will wrap up its pre-tournament schedule with games against Switzerland and the United States on Friday and Saturday. 

"Today was good to get an idea what the D-zone system is and what we're doing in the neutral zone," Poitras said. "It's nice to get your feet under you and know what's happening on the ice."

"When we were sitting with him before practice, he was asking a lot of smart questions," Letang said. "I think he's got a pretty good grasp of what we need to do here."

The focus for the entire team is tightening things up. 

"We walked through a few things in the D-zone," Letang said. "Just some switches and how we're going to sort that stuff out, because on the bigger ice there's going to be lots of movement. If we get lost a little bit in the D-zone as long as we protect inside I think we'll be fine. So, we walked through that."

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Poitras lined up as the net-front presence on Canada's top power-play unit. 

"I haven't played net front in a while," Poitras said. "Maybe it will take a couple practices to get used to, but I feel like I'll be fine there."

Letang sought advice from assistant coach Scott Walker, who is the president of hockey operations in Guelph, before deciding where to deploy Poitras. 

"A right shot over there, he's pretty slick at finding the backdoor," said Letang. "He's pretty slick at finding passes. Last year in the playoffs against us, he made some pretty nice plays to Max Namestnikov, so we thought we'd try it right now."

Poitras picked up two goals and four assists in Guelph's six-game loss to Letang's Sarnia Sting in the first round of the OHL playoffs last year. 

"I'm not used to standing in front of the net that much," Poitras said. "For me, it's finding the time to open up backdoor, the time to be screening, and the time to be popping out for [Fraser Minten]."

Saskatoon Blades forward Minten and Boston University freshman Macklin Celebrini remain on the flanks, while Moose Jaw Warriors defenceman Denton Mateychuk continues to quarterback the unit. Geekie, who had been playing the net-front role, moves to the bumper. 

"I played it a little bit in Wenatchee," he said. "We just kind of randomly end up in certain spots sometimes. So, I like the bumper. I like net front. I like being on the power play in general, so it doesn't really matter where I am."

London Knights sparkplug Easton Cowan plays the net-front role on the second unit. He scored a power-play goal from that spot in Tuesday's game against Denmark. 

"I played it last year in the playoffs," the Leafs prospect said. "I feel like it's a good to play everywhere. It's a bit different than the half wall, but I don't mind it. You got to be careful, you know, pucks flying. So, I wear a mouth guard."

On a stacked Team Canada, lots of players need to get comfortable in unfamiliar positions. Savoie is playing in the bumper spot on the second unit. 

"I played there at the start of the year in the American League for the six games I was there," the Buffalo Sabres prospect said. "I was there in the playoffs quite a bit, so I feel pretty comfortable there. Wherever they need me, I'm comfortable and happy to play there."

Halifax Mooseheads forward Jordan Dumais and University of Connecticut sophomore Matthew Wood play the flanks on the second unit with Bonk up top.  

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Mooseheads goalie Mathis Rousseau will start again on Friday. 

"He might get the full game if things go well just to get him dialled in," Letang said.

Rousseau and Sherbrooke Phoenix goalie Samuel St-Hilaire split the game on Tuesday. Rousseau stopped all six shots faced while St-Hilaire turned away the nine that came his way. 

"They will probably split the last game," Letang said. "But still kind of sorting that out. I love that it's a goalie battle and they're pushing hard."

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Anaheim Ducks defenceman Tristan Luneau, who missed Tuesday's game due to illness, remained sidelined at practice. 

"Still day-to-day," Letang said. "He looks a lot better. He rode the bike a little bit today to get a little bit of a sweat, but we'll take it easy on him just to make sure he's fully recovered."

Luneau, who watched part of practice from the glass while drinking from a huge bottle of water, is doubtful to play on Friday. 

"It doesn't look good," Letang acknowledged, "but hopefully we get him for the last one for at least a few shifts so he can get into that speed. But he's a pro and he knows how to take care of himself."

Luneau had been skating on Canada's second pair and quarterbacking the second power-play unit. 

"We are going to lean on him," Letang said. "Those practices he was here, he's a presence for us on the ice, so hopefully every day he's getting better."

Luneau has only played 13 games this season (seven in the NHL and six in the AHL) and did not take part in the U Sports games during Canada's selection camp.  

"It will be a little bit of a challenge for him when he jumps into the lineup if he can't get in before the tournament starts," Letang said. "So, we'll ease him back in and make sure he's set up to have success."

Luneau last played on Dec. 7. 

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Cowan, who had been playing with Geekie and Savoie, now finds himself on the third line with Warriors centre Brayden Yager and Wood. 

"He'll be real good on that line," Letang predicted. "Yager is an engine, a motor, same with Easton. They'll go retrieve pucks and if they find Wood in the slot, he's got that dangerous shot."

"If I see him in the slot, I'm definitely going to give it to him," Cowan said with a grin. "He can shoot the puck and another smart player, so excited to play with him." 

What stands out about Yager? 

"He's a horse," Cowan said. "He's got an engine, and he can score too …  If we finish our checks, we'll be good." 

"I like the speed of those two guys," Letang said. "They hunt pucks really well. I think they'll have some chemistry."

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Kitchener Ranger Carson Rehkopf, who has scored 31 goals in 31 games to lead the OHL, is now Canada's 13th forward. 

"I know what he's good at," Letang stressed. "I saw him in Kitchener and his opportunity is going to come. He's a guy who can filter in on a whole bunch of lines now as a 13th forward. We get him with some good centre men, who can get him the puck, and he'll be fine. He just has to continue to do the things he's doing and be ready."

Rehkopf had been skating on the third line with Yager and Wood. 

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Savoie will often choke up on his stick in order to receive passes that are close to his skates. He started doing it a few years ago after seeing a veteran NHL player – he can't remember who – do the same thing. 

"I noticed when he was receiving passes close to his feet, instead of moving his feet to kick it up, he choked down on his stick," Savoie recalled. "So, kind of learned it from him and been working on it a ton in the summers and stuff and got pretty good at it."

Geekie is certainly impressed. 

"It's nuts," he said. "Sometimes it makes you look really good because he picks it up somehow and you don't know how. He's really good at it. I've tried it. I'm not the greatest at it. It's a crazy skill to have. I'd rather use my feet and he'd rather use his stick."  

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Speaking of Geekie's stick, he has a rather strange tape job. Specifically, he has a lot of tape at the top. 

"It's outrageous," said Savoie with a laugh. "You can ask any guy on this team and they'll say the exact same thing. It's kind of like Mark Stone but even a little bit bigger. He uses a full roll of tape there. I don't even know how he uses it, to be honest."

Geekie points out that his older brother – Bruins forward Morgan Geekie – used a similar approach. 

"He had the smaller version and it's kind of gotten bigger as I've grown up," he explained. "This is the one that's set in stone. I don't think I could not use it, let's put it that way. It's one of those things that you just use it for so long that once you hold a hockey stick it never feels the same without it."  

Savoie believes Geekie is using even more tape lately. 

"He keeps adding a couple layers," Savoie said. "Three or four days ago he had to take a few layers off. He said it was getting a bit uncomfortable on his hands, so he overdid it a little and had to tone back. But whatever works for him. He's got big hands, and he can shoot the puck for sure."

Geekie has 20 goals in 26 games this season. 

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Lines at Thursday's practice: 

Geekie - Poitras - Savoie

Minten - Celebrini - Dumais

Cowan - Yager - Wood

Allard - Beck - Danielson 

Rehkopf

Mateychuk - Lamoureux 

Furlong - Bonk 

Molendyk - Warren 

Rousseau 

St-Hilaire 

Ratzlaff

Power play units at Thursday's practice: 

QB: Mateychuk

Flanks: Celebrini, Minten

Bumper: Geekie

Net front: Poitras

QB: Bonk

Flanks: Dumais, Wood

Bumper: Savoie

Net front: Cowan