David Pastrnak: The Boston Bruins MVP
David Pastrnak has been the greatest surprise for the Bruins this season. When he was picked up by the Bruins in last year’s entry draft, there were high hopes for him. The eighteen year old Czech national had been playing in the Swedish Elite League, and had generated quite a lot of buzz. He was a first round draft pick, and rather going back to Sweden, he went straight to the AHL.
More from Bruins News
- Bruins release Prospects Challenge roster, schedule Tuesday
- Bruins bringing back familiar forward on tryout contract
- The Bruins should take a look at these four free agents
- NHL Network lists Ullmark as sixth-best goalie in the league
- The Lasting Legacy of David Krejci
Pastrnak has played forty games as a member of the Boston Bruins. He’s put in twenty-five points (ten goals) for the Black and Gold. (That would have put him on a fifty point pace for the B’s this season.) He’s had one of the toughest learning curves to be thrown a member of the team, and the young man has handled the pressure extremely well. His first few games were tentative, but he’s quickly found himself a place as a wing on the Bruins second line.
Pastrnak is having an outstanding rookie year. While he won’t win the Calder Memorial Trophy for the being the NHL’s best rookie, he should certainly be one of the players talked about when the finalists are named. The organization has asked an awful lot of him. He had to make the switch from European to North American hockey practically overnight. He went from playing some of the better players in Sweden to playing the top players on the planet. This young man has met every challenge put before him.
Live Feed
App Trigger
It takes a lot to survive in the NHL. You have to be mentally and physically fit. You have to be able to play at an elite level for nine months out of the year. You have to give up things like family, relationships, and be willing to be moved across the country (or in Pasta’s case, the planet) at a moment’s notice. We’ve seen other eighteen year old rookies come to Boston. Some of them have thrived here (like Dougie Hamilton) and others just couldn’t find their niche in the B’s sweater (like Tyler Seguin).
David Pastrnak, like Dougie Hamilton will be the future of the B’s organization. He may never end up wearing the ‘A’ or the ‘C’, but he’ll be one of those players that has a long and distinguished career in Boston. He has the intelligence, he has the heart, and he has the solid support of his teammates and the organization.
David Pastrnak was my choice for NESN’s Seventh Player Award. Hopefully he’ll be the recipient of it.