PASTRNAK FINALLY BACK ON HOME ICE
Makes first appearance after fulfilling international quarantine
Most, if not all, was right with the Bruins on Wednesday morning. The B’s leading goal-scorer and Rocket Richard Trophy co-winner
David Pastrnak, held out of the first two days of Return To Play camp because of international quarantine regulations, was finally able to hit the ice at Warrior Ice Arena on Day 3.
His unmistakable unruly hockey hair jutting out from under his helmet, Pastrnak joined a handful of call-ups and a couple of regulars for 45 minutes of drills before he set up postpractice in the left circle as skating coach Kim Brandvold fed him passes for his patented one-timers.
There was no goalie in front of him, but he didn’t miss much.
Whether or not Pastrnak is behind his teammates as far as fitness, execution and timing remains to be seen, but coach Bruce Cassidy suspects he’ll be ready for game action on Aug. 2.
“Pasta’s always in good shape, so I’m sure he did what he needed to do to get ready over there. We didn’t monitor them on a daily basis. Let’s get him on the ice and see how he is. I suspect he’ll get right back up to speed,” said Cassidy. “He’s a guy that loves the game, so I’m sure he was around it in some capacity, whether he was rollerblading, skating, firing pucks, whatever he was doing in his spare time. He’ll be like the other guys. I’m sure it’ll take a little bit of time to get going. I anticipate he’ll pick up where he left off. Time will tell on that part. Timing is important this time of year for everybody. You can’t help but think the team that gets that back the quickest, the individuals that get it back the quickest, especially with his shot, will (succeed). He’s got a great one-timer, his release is second to none in the National Hockey League, but until he gets out there at high speed with people around him, it’s anyone’s guess. But I anticipate he’ll be fine.”
With the B’s medical and training staffs’ decision to give most of the regulars a day off the ice on Wednesday, there weren’t a ton of players working out in semi-public view. Forwards, Anton Blidh, Paul Carey, Nick Ritchie, Zach Senyshyn and Jack Studnicka;
defensemen Connor Clifton, Urho Vaakanainen and Jakub Zboril; and goalies Max Lagace and Daniel Vladar were on the ice with Pastrnak.
According to Studnicka, Pastrnak came ready to work.
“He’s an unbelievable talent,” said Studnicka. “Obviously, his year speaks for itself, how he was able to contribute offensively on such a consistent basis. To see how he practices, he’s always moving full speed and finding ways to be creative and be better, it was definitely fun to share the ice with him.”
For whatever reason, Pastrnak’s Czech countryman
Ondrej Kase did not skate with the group — the NHL has become hyper vigilant about privacy with the coronavirus pandemic — but the former Duck did hit the ice at Warrior Ice Arena for the first time since returning to Boston, skating with fellow out
cast (for now) Trent Frederic.
Cassidy talks Krug contract
Cassidy said that he may or may not chat with Torey
Krug about his contract status, but he generally stays away from those discussions with players.
“Only if I sense there are stories out there and I sense a little bit of discomfort in the player,” said Cassidy. “I try not to mess around in a player’s business. That’s his decision going forward. But a guy like Torey I’ve had for a long time, so I have a lot of conversations with him anyway, some to do with hockey, some to do with the power play, some to do with life. So I suspect I will at some point because it’s Torey and I’ve had him for such a long time. But we’re not going to get too deeply involved in it. It’s just about being in the moment … everything will take care of itself for the most part and we’ll go from there and see where it goes if he wants to talk about it. Then again, the player sometimes doesn’t want to have those conversations, either. That’s their personal business. They’re here to play. They’re professionals, so I expect Torey will give 100% and deal with whatever he has to deal with down the road in terms of his contract.”
D spot up for grabs
Jeremy Lauzon appears to have the inside track on the third pair right side defense spot next to Matt Grzelcyk, though Cassidy pointed out both Clifton and John Moore are in a healthier position to compete than they were at the time of the pause. Whoever fills the spot, the coach feels good about it.
“We’ve got eight guys who can play in the league,” said Cassidy. “Cliffy played in the Finals last year, Johnny Moore has played a lot of playoff hockey. Lauzon is the only one that hasn’t, so that will be a question mark for him going forward. How does he react to that, how does he handle it? I think he’ll be fine. He’s a good kid, works hard, stays in the moment. I don’t think he’s one of those guys who’ll overthink it. So we have the luxury of putting whoever we want there. Cliffy’s a right stick, so he’s comfortable on the right side. John Moore’s not as comfortable on the right side as Lauzon as a lefthanded shot. Neither is Grizz for that matter. So that has factored into the decision. At the end of the day, we’ll play our six best. Lauzy went in there and played (on the right side) and gave us an element of size, grit, some abrasiveness that I thought we were lacking at the time when he went in. So good timing for him and he took advantage of a situation, played to his strengths. We like what he’s done.”
Road trip
Anders Bjork on the conundrum of trying to pack for a possible two-month-plus road trip: “I don’t know how many shoes I’m going to bring. I think that’s my main concern.”
If there’s anything keeping Cassidy up at night, that’s not it.
“I’m going to be critiqued for wearing the same thing every day and they’re probably going to be accurate, because I’m not bringing 10 suits,” said the coach. “It’s going to be a pretty generic wardrobe and hopefully I come out of it with a lucky tie or two.”