You have to admire the amount of work David Pastrnak has done this season. He played thirty-six games in the Swedish Elite League. He came over as part of the 2014 Draft and played a combined eighty games in both Providence and Boston. He’s been given a work load that is exceptionally demanding on a professional athlete, not to mention an eighteen year old who has gone through the gauntlet of three different leagues in that amount of time.
Puck Prose
It’s amazing the kid still has anything left to give. He’s on the top line tonight for the Providence Bruins as they try to take a 2-1 lead in their series against the Hartford Wolf Pack. He’s on the top line for the Baby B’s (On a related note, Ryan Spooner is currently centering the second line for the P-Bruins) playing in the same position as he did in Boston.
He was able to get an assist on Alexander Khokhlachev‘s game winner in game two of the Baby B’s quarterfinal series. The Bruins and the Hartford are tied at the end of regulation in game three, and Pastrnak is a +1 for the night. While Pastrnak hasn’t played to his desired level, the Providence Bruins haven’t lost any confidence in him.
“I thought he worked hard to get pucks back, and that’s one thing he did awfully well here,” said Providence head coach Bruce Cassidy of Pastrnak’s play in the first two playoff games. “People talk about his defensive play and hey, he might turn it over but he’s always working hard to get it back. You can live with that. When he stops working to get back, then you’d have a problem.
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“He cares…he wants to be here, and he wants to play. He gets mad when things don’t go his way, and you can tell. I think his game is getting better. Offensively once some good things happen for him maybe he’ll even get that much better, but he’s getting better just like the whole group.”
“It’s better to play than sit on your ass, so I’m happy I can help, and do my best to help them win the Cup. Right now I’m here, and I’m focusing on Providence.” – David Pastrnak on helping the Providence Bruins advance through the postseason
“The thing is that it’s similar hockey, but for sure the NHL is a little bit different,” said Pastrnak of his current game play. “At the end of the day it’s just hockey, though, and you just have to keep working hard. I still expect a little more from myself, and think I can be a little bit better. It doesn’t always work every night, so I just have to keep working, keep going hard and just wait until it comes.”
It’s expected that he’ll be able to help the Providence Bruins move forward in their run for the Calder Cup. Hopefully, he’ll be able to bring success for the big club next season.