It’s been a solid, linear year of development for 21-year-old Fraser Minten with the Boston Bruins this season as he’s been a constant in the lineup as a rookie two-way center playing well beyond his years of experience.

But even so it’s been a gradual process for the Bruins coaching staff, giving the first-year skater greater responsibilities and more weight on his shoulders. Certainly, it’s been successful with Minten on pace for a decent 16 goals and 33 points as the third line pivot this season, but then again, that isn’t far off what a guy named Patrice Bergeron did (16 goals, 39 points) in his first full NHL campaign either.

But in Saturday’s first visit to his hometown of Vancouver, Minten took a massive leap forward while potting a pair of goals – including the overtime game-winner — in Boston’s 3-2 OT win over the Canucks at Rogers Arena.

It showed how much he’s grown this season, but also perhaps what he’s capable of as he stretches his muscles at the NHL level.

“He deserves every bit of it,” said Jeremy Swayman, who was also pretty stellar while making 31 saves in the overtime victory. “He’s one of the hardest workers on the team. He plays the right way and he carries himself the right way like a pro. It’s awesome to see him get results and it’s expected now because he’s put himself in a position to be an elite player. It’s really fun to watch and be a part of. He’s in this league for a reason and he’s a Bruin through and through.

Minten logged a career-high (20:30) in terms of ice time, was the best player on the ice for either team through nearly 65 minutes of hockey and is even now pushing for power play time where he scored on Saturday from the bumper position to open up Boston’s scoring during the game. It’s been a process for the B’s coaching staff to provide him with more rope and greater opportunities as his experience and confidence levels have burgeoned over the season, and it all came to a sweet crescendo for the B’s in his hometown.

“You can’t describe a better script. He’s a young kid growing up here around the corner, begging for tickets just to see the Canucks play. What a game he had today,” said Marco Sturm. “Trust usually comes with time and he’s given me that. I’m just [the] idiot that’s going to put him on the ice. Give him a lot of credit. I’m glad he was able to get that one and he’s going to remember it for a long time.

“We were actually holding [in waiting] him for a