Mark Divver dropped a take Sunday on Matt Poitras that should catch every Bruins fan's eye, and it pushes against what the box score says about the 22-year-old forward.

Poitras finished the AHL season with 44 points in 69 games in Providence. The year before, he put up 41 in 40.

On paper, that's a step backward. Divver sees the opposite.

The longtime Providence Bruins writer argued that Poitras is a more well-rounded, more NHL-ready player than he was heading into the fall.

Not a points argument. A game argument.

That's a useful distinction coming from someone who watches him every night.

Poitras appeared in 3 games with the big club this season and managed 1 goal, 1 point, and a plus-1 rating on a $870,000 cap hit. A cameo, nothing more.

Marco Sturm's bottom six next fall could have a Matt Poitras opening

Boston finished 45-27-10 and rolled into the playoffs at 100 points, fourth in the Atlantic with a plus-22 goal differential.

Their Game 1 against Buffalo started Sunday in Western New York.

Marco Sturm inherited a team that still leans on David Pastrnak and a top six that generates most of the offense. The middle of the lineup has been a conversation all year.

Poitras doesn't fix the top six. He's not supposed to.

What a well-rounded 22-year-old center gives Sturm is a cheap option to audition in the bottom six next September when roster decisions actually carry weight.

You can read the full Divver assessment here, including the line about the numbers not telling the whole story.

There's a risk with prospects who dominate their first AHL year and then level off. Sometimes the jump never comes. Sometimes they turn into career American Leaguers wondering what happened.

Divver's read suggests Poitras is on the other side of that curve. Better defensively, more trustworthy in his own end, more complete away from the puck.

None of that shows up in a 44-point line.

The Bruins have bigger problems in front of them right now than where a 22-year-old fits next season.

But when training camp opens, Sturm will have to answer a question Divver just teed up for him.

Is Poitras ready to take a regular NHL shift, or is he one more year of Providence away?