When the Boston Bruins placed James Hagens on injured reserve on Saturday morning, there was very little drama in terms of who the Black and Gold would call up from the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL).

Boston ended up calling up a veteran for Mikey Eyssimont, and truth be told, it wasn’t really surprising. He made the roster out of training camp, but that was because young forward Matthew Poitras was on injured reserve at the time. Once Poitras was taken off IR, Eyssimont was placed on waivers and sent to the AHL. He cleared and tore up the minors before the call on Saturday morning.

After practice on Wednesday morning at Warrior Ice Arena, head coach Marco Sturm explained why the former Tampa Bay Lightning forward was called up.

“That was one of the reasons why we grabbed Mikey, because he can do that. He can play on the fourth line, but also we can put him on the third or second,” Sturm said, per BostonBruins.com. “Good for him; he had a really good game, I thought. He’s just one of those players that I can put him in different situations, and that’s why he got the call.”

Mikey Eyssimont makes an immediate impact in Boston after being recalled

Eyssimont is certainly someone who can slide up and down the lineup. He played in the bottom six last season for the most part, but as Bruins fans saw on Sunday afternoon against the Florida Panthers, he can slide up to the second line with Fraser Minten and Morgan Geekie and make an impact.

Shortly after Elias Lindholm gave the Black and Gold a 1-0 first-period lead, Eyssimont doubled the lead when he circled out in front of the net and was able to stuff the puck past Panthers goalie Jacob Markstrom. It was just the latest goal for Boston this season where it is scored from in close, something that Hagens has mastered this season. Fitting that Eyssimont scored like that, replacing him in the lineup.

At practice on Wednesday, Eyssimont was still on the second line with Minten and Geekie, according to Jim McBride of The Boston Globe, and why not? Everything that Sturm does this season seems to somehow work out. This was just the latest case.

Eyssimont will get another shot against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night, and he’ll be looking to cement his spot in the top-six in the absence of Hagens. If not, Sturm wouldn’t be afraid to move him down the lineup.

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