Bruins’ Fraser Minten is starting to see his stock rise in Marco Sturm’s system

“His jump, his speed through the middle — he’s kind of picked it up for a while now."

Fraser Minten has posted four points in his last five games. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

November 5, 2025

4 minutes to read

Marat Khusnutdinov wasn’t the only young Bruins skater who had to do a double-take when his bench boss tapped his shoulder on Tuesday night.

Fraser Minten has often been tasked with snuffing out scoring chances and winning critical face-offs in the defensive zone for Boston this season.

But against the Islanders, Marco Sturm called on the 21-year-old forward to capitalize down the other end of the ice.

As Boston tried to erase a one-goal deficit for the third time on Tuesday at UBS Arena, Minten received a promotion up to a top line with David Pastrnak and Khusnutdinov.

For Boston’s first-year head coach, Minten’s meat-and-potatoes approach was a needed prescription for a forward corps that was starting to put New York on the ropes.

“His jump, his speed through the middle — he’s kind of picked it up for a while now. So that’s why, that was one of the things,” Sturm said of Minten’s promotion on Wednesday at Warrior Ice Arena. “I’m like, okay, maybe I’m gonna help Pasta, too, with a little bit more directness.”

Sturm’s trust in Boston’s younger crop of skaters paid off.

Much like how Khusnutdinov made the most of his reps on Tuesday with both a game-tying goal and a shootout winner, Minten helped orchestrate his linemate’s third-period tally by hounding pucks and sapping the strength out of the opposition’s legs by cycling in the offensive zone.

It was Minten’s shot from the slot after a frantic shift that generated the rebound that Khusnutdinov tucked home — knotting the score at 3-3 and allowing Boston to eventually scrap together a 4-3 shootout victory on Long Island.

9️⃣2️⃣ KNOTS IT UP ‼️ pic.twitter.com/AxUJ9mpIb1
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 5, 2025

“It’s good that Marco wants me out there at the end of a game where we need a goal,” Minten said Wednesday. “I think it’s an area of my game where I want to contribute. I’m not always going to be the guy who’s out there for that, but it was nice to be out there yesterday and have them be successful.”

Minten’s elevation up the depth chart might have been an in-game tweak as Sturm searched for offense.

But after cashing in on a goal through just 2:13 of 5-on-5 ice time together, Sturm said that he could feature that line again moving forward.

“Sometimes it’s my gut,” Sturm said of getting results from a Khusnutdinov-Minten-Pastrnak line. “But to tell you the truth, I knew that was coming. I just didn’t know it was that early. Could we see it again? Absolutely.”

A top-six promotion for Minten would be the latest leap forward for the fresh-faced skater over the last few weeks.

A sound two-way game helped stamp Minten’s spot in Boston’s opening-night lineup after an encouraging preseason slate. But the Vancouver native saw his ice time fluctuate as the man in the middle of an unflashy, north-south grouping on the third line.

The expected growing pains that come with a player’s first full season in the NHL ranks manifested into a team-low 7:07 and 9:40 of ice time in games against the Panthers (Oct. 21) and Avalanche (Oct. 25), respectively.

Minten had managed to dodge Sturm’s tried-and-true move for struggling skaters by ducking a designation to the ninth floor as a healthy scratch. But as that bottom-six grouping struggled to string together productive shifts, Minten’s game stalled — headlined by an eight-game scoreless drought.

For Sturm, Minten’s struggles had more to do with the expected adjustments required at hockey’s highest level, rather than a dip in confidence or poise. It’s a hurdle only cleared with more reps, rather than a hard reset prompted by a night off on gameday.

“He had to learn how to play in this league,” Sturm explained. “ Yes, he played some games last year, but he came out really, really hot, and then he kind of slowed down for a little bit. But I think he was just kind of processing everything.

“What’s going on here? How do I have to play? When to go? When not? And now he slowly gets it. The way he has to play and on top of it — his speed, his motor, has been really, really good.”

Over his last five games, Minten has seen his usage spike under Sturm’s watch. During this stretch, Minten has averaged over 15 minutes of ice time, while also scoring four points (one goal, three assists).

After assisting on Khustudinov’s overtime winner against Buffalo last Thursday, Minten found more success with the 23-year-old forward on Tuesday.

Beyond recording the primary helper on his linemate’s equalizing goal, Minten logged a season-high 16:28 of ice time against the Islanders while winning 50 percent of his faceoff opportunities. His 2:27 of shorthanded ice time on Tuesday was third among Bruins forwards on a perfect 3-for-3 showing on the PK.

And in that 2:13 of 5-on-5 ice time that Khusnutdinov-Minten-Pastrnak logged against the Islanders, the Bruins held a 6-2 edge in shot attempts to go along with that game-tying goal.

It remains to be seen if that top line will get more run on Thursday against the Senators. But regardless of where he slots in, Minten feels as though he’s starting to find his footing within Sturm’s system.

“I always try to have fun,” Minten said. “I think it’s good to have the pressure and stuff — and there always is. It’s the NHL. There’s millions of people who want your jobs so there’s always some. But I think the more you can just enjoy and play hockey, the better you’re going to do.”