Peter Chiarelli and the Boston Bruins management have tainted the way people view the Bruins ability to make proper drafting decisions. Due to that, all eyes are focused on the Bruins recent first round draft pick – David Pastrnak – to see if he can reach the potential the Bruins management see in him.
To start out, Pastrnak will likely be compared to Jordan Caron, Joe Colborne and Zach Hamill – three of the Bruins previous first round draftees who have failed to reach their potential. The Bruins drafted Zach Hamill 8th overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, passing up Logan Couture, Brandon Sutter, Ryan McDonough, Lars Eller, Kevin Shattenkirk, Max Pacioretty, David Perron and more. This is much more painful considering that Zach Hamill will never play in the NHL.
Introducing David Pastrnak
With all that being said, early returns from Bruins camp and pre-season make it seem that Pastrnak will avoid joining the “underperformance club” that Caron and Hamill have rightfully established, joining more successful recent picks like Tyler Seguin, and Dougie Hamilton,
David Pastrnak is an 18 year-old left winger from the Czech Republic. Pastrnak has been playing for Södertälje SK, a professional hockey club within the HockeyAllsvenskan league. He was the youngest player on the roster and has contributed 10 goals and 17 assists for a total of 27 points in 47 games. To view Ben Kerr’s pre-draft scouting report on Pastrnak, click here and for Shawn Wilken’s interview with Pastrnak click here.
Where Pastrnak will offer speed and his offensive abilities to the Bruins team, he’ll also offer versatility, as well as a huge personality. In an interview with NESN, Pastrnak said “I can be wing, I can be center, I don’t really care.” He even went as far as saying “If I should help the team by being goalie than I’ll be goalie.”
It’s always great for an athlete to be personable as it makes them more likeable not only for their athletic abilities, but their personality as well. In the latest episode of Behind the B, an all access television show following the Boston Bruins throughout the season, Pastrnak was overheard saying at the NHL draft “I’m more happy than being with a girlfriend.” It didn’t take long for him to win over Bruins fans.
With the NHL season only weeks away, the Bruins have a lot of work to do. There are a few roster spots available and all rookies on the team must qualify for the positions. Taking in to consideration David Pasrtnak’s success thus far in the preseason, as well as his personality that is winning over hockey fans in Boston, he should not be overlooked as an answer to the Bruins problem.
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