Oskar Steen has been given an extended opportunity lately for the Boston Bruins and he’s running with it.
Through five games this season Steen has recorded five points — including his first career NHL goal, which was done in an absolutely wild way — and is riding a two-game point streak heading into the Bruins’ Thursday night tilt with the Minnesota Wild at TD Garden.
After scoring his first NHL goal, a photo was snapped of the 23-year-old in the Boston dressing room showing off his massive quads and it prompted Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy to chuckle a little bit at first, but then toss some major praise on the young center. Cassidy even compared Steen to one of Boston’s best.
“He’s a stout player,” Cassidy said, via team-provided audio. “He’s stocky, right. I mean he’s a shorter guy but he’s not light per se weight-wise. He’s got powerful legs and it’s made up for probably some of the other areas physically that he doesn’t have but he gets around the ice and he’s powerful and uses it well. He’s a sturdy guy I imagine it makes him even stronger to knock off the puck when he gets inside position. He’s able to get inside guys in a hurry and has a low center of gravity and gets his shot off. That’s probably a combination of willingness, powerful sort of core and a good first step, kind of like (Brad Marchand) there’s some similarities.
“He’s starting his career whereas Marchy is well into it and an elite player but Marchy had some of those attributes when he was younger. He was much more of a guy who would stir the pot but Oskar is in there. He annoys people too. He’s not afraid of any situation so that would be the similarity in terms of how they can play the game and be successful offensively is using their stature to their advantage.”
Steen looks to keep his hot streak going from the Bruins’ third line on Thursday night with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. ET from TD Garden.
