Jun 27, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; David Pastrnak poses for a photo with team officials after being selected as the number twenty-five overall pick to the Boston Bruins in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
David Pastrnak ‘s name has been circulating a lot throughout the Boston Bruins fan community. A lot of fans compare him to his own idol, David Krejci. He’s got a great skill set from what we’ve seen at rookie camp. He’s already moved himself to the head of the class, and it appears he’s the most likely of the rookie camp to see time in the B’s jersey some time this season.
The young Czech forward is going to have to prove to the Bruins that he is capable of several things before he can play in the NHL. While Pastrnak is soaking up every piece of information like a sponge in camp, he’ll need to show that kind of dedication to Boston every day. There is a need to act like a professional hockey player. Pastrnak may have an advantage here. Not many eighteen year olds have several years experience playing in a professional league in Europe before coming over to the NHL.
The only downside (but it’s a big one here) is that Pastrnak may not be physically ready for the NHL. The young Czech is a rail thin, 171 lbs. Most of the European leagues are technical and group around teams having a superior skill set. How will a technical skill player handle working with the Big, Bad Bruins? More to the point, how will he handle playing teams looking to take on (and knock down) the Bruins? Will he be able to take that kind of pounding three nights a week over the next seven months?
This leads me to believe that Pastrnak will not end up with a slot on the Boston Bruins roster on opening night. While I’m quite sure he’ll be called up from Providence when a player gets injured, it’s probably best for his career that he spends a year in Providence. He’ll need to get ready for the NHL, and a year in the AHL will only help him here. A year stint in the AHL Bruins certainly helped the careers of several Bruins who currently play in Boston. Tuukka Rask, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Torey Krug and Johnny Boychuk all had a year(or more) in the Providence organization, and it’s certainly helped their careers.
It certainly couldn’t hurt to remind the current group of Boston players that is someone in Providence who could do their job if they chose to slack off during the regular season.