It’s not overstating it to say that 22-year-old David Pastrnak is both the present and the future for the Boston Bruins organization.
After a solid, promising first couple of seasons in the NHL that started off with him as the youngest guy in the league during his rookie campaign, Pastrnak has gone NHL star supernova over the last two seasons while averaging 35 goals and 75 points. The speedy, skilled right winger has grown physically stronger, perfected his one-timer blast from the face-off circle on the power play and is beginning to turn into an impact player in all three zones while learning the two-way game under the tutelage of Patrice Bergeron.
That’s why this season it looks like Pastrnak is taking the next step from exciting young player to bona fide NHL superstar, and has led the NHL in goals scored for pretty much the entire first couple of months this season. Perhaps just as good as his skills on the ice is the carefree, charismatic approach that Pastrnak has off the ice while bringing energy and laughter to the Bruins dressing room, and always including some important perspective when it comes to his humble upbringings in the Czech Republic.
Pastrnak could have really pushed the Bruins at the bargaining table with his second contract prior to last season, but instead settled for a six-year, $40 million deal that’s increasingly looking like a huge bargain for the B’s based on his rapid ascension up the NHL ranks.
WHERE PASTRNAK FINISHED IN PAST 20-UNDER-25 VOTING
- 2018: Third (behind Jayson Tatum and Charlie McAvoy)
- 2017: Third
- 2016: Sixth
- 2015: Eighth
It sure looked that way during the playoffs when Pastrnak checked another accomplishment off the list, and became a legit playoff scoring machine with an NHL-record six-point game against the Maple Leafs and a whopping total of six goals and 20 points in just 12 games.
Boston Bruins
With players like Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand on the wrong side of 30 years old and on the back end of their own brilliant NHL careers, Pastrnak is the guy that’s expected to lead this Bruins team to their next era of greatness over the coming decade. Pastrnak was a steal at the 25th overall pick in the 2014 NHL draft based on his dazzling skills and what he’s already accomplished in four-plus seasons, but he could turn into one of the best Bruins of all time when it’s said and done.
Pastrnak is that good and still has that much of his career in front of him.
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