Pastrnak been recalled (again)

BoSoxFink

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Murby said:
According to Fluto, he's been recalled and will travel with team to Pitt. Hmmmm....move/trade coming?
I doubt it, it was reported that they would recall him after the juniors tourney if I recall correctly.
 

PedroSpecialK

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Chiarelli said within the past couple of days that Pastrnak would not be back up immediately.
 
 
 
Pastrnak? Not yet
 
The Bruins have no immediate plans to bring top pick David Pastrnak back to Boston. The 18-year-old right winger, who could perhaps fill the void on right wing beside Lucic and David Krejci, is just back from a strong showing at the world junior tournament, where he had a goal and six assists to lead the Czech Republic.
 
He has played five NHL games with the B’s, picking up one assist, and can play up to nine without having this season count as a year of service in regards to future free agency, arbitration, waivers, etc. So at the least it’s a safe bet the B’s will want to check him out in four more games at some point.
 
“Not right away,” B’s general manager Peter Chiarelli said, “but certainly he had a good tournament. We’ve got some options with him still in regards to the games left before he burns a year. I would say he’s still in evaluation mode. We’ll see where it goes.
 
“He’s been our leading scoring (in Providence). His game is really improving. He’s young and still learning to play with bigger men. But what’s important is that he is learning. He’s adapting and playing a lot better.”
 
Potential linemate Lucic has been impressed by the little he’s seen from Pastrnak.
 
“He’s a great player,” Lucic said. “You could see in the games he played, he definitely created a lot of chances. One game he had seven shots; that’s hard to do.
 
“He’s got a lot of skill, and he’s got that confidence. If he gets an opportunity (here), hopefully things will jell.”
 Link
 

Salem's Lot

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I know if I'm Pastrnak's agent, I'd be leveraging the Bruins' desperation into making sure my client gets to play those 9 NHL games this year. And from Chiarelli's standpoint, if they don't make the playoffs this year and are in the same boat next January, he might not be here to worry about the 3rd year of Pastrnak's ELC. It's all a leverage game now. 
 

Reardon's Beard

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Lots of internal politicking going on to be sure. Have to wonder if they are going to run him out for a couple games and see if they think it's a solution (playing with 46) versus moving one of the core in a shakeup. I imagine, with this front office group, they would prefer keeping him up and burning the year versus trading any central pieces at the moment. What will kill them is if they keep him up and end up moving a central piece anyway and then don't make the playoffs or get bounced in short order.
 
Interesting times.
 

Reardon's Beard

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Pastrnak not suiting up tonight against Pittsburgh but coach says he'll play tomorrow.
 
Have to wonder - is this a last "see what the team does" before loosing the kid on the NHL? And if they respond, do you send him back down? Or perhaps their just trying to protect him as much as possible?
 
Lots of questions on this one.
 

The Long Tater

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He made a good case today in Philly.  The second goal especially was very nice.
 

cshea

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Decision time is coming up this week. Assuming he plays tonight and Thursday, they'll have to make a firm decision before Saturday's game. It's going to be a tough call. Heart probably says keep him, brain says the wiser decision is sending him back.
 

FL4WL3SS

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cshea said:
Decision time is coming up this week. Assuming he plays tonight and Thursday, they'll have to make a firm decision before Saturday's game. It's going to be a tough call. Heart probably says keep him, brain says the wiser decision is sending him back.
Why send him back? He's stabilized that top line with Krejci. 
 
Let the kid play. I honestly think they're going to keep him, otherwise, what's the point of continuing to have him up? They're not going to learn any more from him in the next two games that they don't already know. It's the right call; give the kid a shot and give him planned rest to keep him fresh.
 

TheRealness

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FL4WL3SS said:
Why send him back? He's stabilized that top line with Krejci. 
 
Let the kid play. I honestly think they're going to keep him, otherwise, what's the point of continuing to have him up? They're not going to learn any more from him in the next two games that they don't already know. It's the right call; give the kid a shot and give him planned rest to keep him fresh.
 
Yeah, if he plays like he did in the last game, he's staying and it would be foolish to send him down. If he stinks it up against two top teams, then it could mean he's sent back down for good. 
 
I suspect he's not going anywhere. He looked really good last game. Smart player, has a lot of skill, and despite his very skinny size he seems fearless out there. 
 

McDrew

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He's done a good job so far of making the decision hard.  Next step is to make the decision easy. 
 

Reardon's Beard

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From what I've seen thus far it very well could be sending him down actually harms his development more than helps.
 
But like was wisely said above, I bet he continues making this an easy decision.
 

allstonite

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I was in the send him down to not burn a year camp until that give and go with Krejci last game against the Flyers. That play was what this team is lacking this year and let me know he's ready. The conditioning issue worries me but hopefully they can give him some time off here and there to keep him relatively fresh.
 

cshea

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There's a legitimate case to be made either way. On the one hand, he's torn up the AHL (27 points in 23 games) as the youngest player in the league. In a small sample size of games with Boston, he's looked like he belongs and has produced. Those are all good things. The flip side is that he's played 35 games this season between Boston, Providence and the WJC's. The most games he's played in a single season so far is 40. The Bruins would be dumb to not consider the possibility of him hitting a wall (remember Wheeler?). Then there's the whole asking an 18-year old rookie to be a top-6 winger for a team that has playoff and Stanley Cup aspirations thing. Can he handle that? By all accounts he seems like a happy go lucky kind of kid and it wouldn't phase him, but I'm not sure I'd want to place that burden on him just yet.

By my eye, he looks ready, but there are some unknowns that will make the decision a difficult one.
 

FL4WL3SS

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cshea said:
There's a legitimate case to be made either way. On the one hand, he's torn up the AHL (27 points in 23 games) as the youngest player in the league. In a small sample size of games with Boston, he's looked like he belongs and has produced. Those are all good things. The flip side is that he's played 35 games this season between Boston, Providence and the WJC's. The most games he's played in a single season so far is 40. The Bruins would be dumb to not consider the possibility of him hitting a wall (remember Wheeler?). Then there's the whole asking an 18-year old rookie to be a top-6 winger for a team that has playoff and Stanley Cup aspirations thing. Can he handle that? By all accounts he seems like a happy go lucky kind of kid and it wouldn't phase him, but I'm not sure I'd want to place that burden on him just yet.

By my eye, he looks ready, but there are some unknowns that will make the decision a difficult one.
I keep hearing this argument about games played, but I just don't buy it. The Bruins can strategically give him rest if need be, but you don't take away a guy that makes your team better because he 'might' break down. That's like sitting a guy because he 'might' get injured. If it happens, it happens, but you might as well use him to help win you games in the meantime.
 
Also, guys with elite talent can play at any level, age becomes a tangential argument at that point. 
 

TheRealness

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cshea said:
There's a legitimate case to be made either way. On the one hand, he's torn up the AHL (27 points in 23 games) as the youngest player in the league. In a small sample size of games with Boston, he's looked like he belongs and has produced. Those are all good things. The flip side is that he's played 35 games this season between Boston, Providence and the WJC's. The most games he's played in a single season so far is 40. The Bruins would be dumb to not consider the possibility of him hitting a wall (remember Wheeler?). Then there's the whole asking an 18-year old rookie to be a top-6 winger for a team that has playoff and Stanley Cup aspirations thing. Can he handle that? By all accounts he seems like a happy go lucky kind of kid and it wouldn't phase him, but I'm not sure I'd want to place that burden on him just yet.

By my eye, he looks ready, but there are some unknowns that will make the decision a difficult one.
 
His size is the thing that makes me concerned about him breaking down, but I agree with FL4WL3SS that if you believe he's ready there are ways to deal with it. 
 
The big thing about Pastrnak that has me convinced he's ready is he may have the slight size of someone like Spooner, but he's not a peripheral player. His first NHL goal was him right in front of the net banging home a rebound. There was another sequence where he took a hit in the slot, stayed there, and the puck found him for a shot (it was blocked). Spooner always seemed a peripheral player to me. He shied away from contact, and was not ready to stick his nose into the "dirty areas". Pastrnak has no such reservations. The video of him from the WJC (not the breakaway goal), but where he deked out two defenseman and then took it hard to the net. He didn't score, but he was so fearless he ran the goalies head into the post. Plays like that show me he has no fear of being hurt or injured. I LOVE that. 
 
I'm surprised he is ready this early, but it's not as much his offensive instincts and talent that tell me he's ready, it's his willingness to be physical and play a two way game (even if his defensive zone play needs some improvement). 
 

TheRealness

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FL4WL3SS said:
I want to know how this guy fell so far in the draft and why the Bruins were the smart team that took him.
 
Do you remember the Behind the B episode? Chiarelli was freaking out that he might not get him and was talking about trading up. I'd never seen him like that before. He was clearly enamored with him, and was very nervous about missing out. I wish I could find it on Youtube.
 

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TheRealness said:
 
Do you remember the Behind the B episode? Chiarelli was freaking out that he might not get him and was talking about trading up. I'd never seen him like that before. He was clearly enamored with him, and was very nervous about missing out. I wish I could find it on Youtube.
Didn't see that episode and actually didn't really pay attention to last year's draft (have a baby zapped my spring/summer).
 

TheRealness

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The Napkin said:
did we ever find out who the ***** was in the "Pastrnak vs *****" thing was?
 
No, I would be curious as well, but they seemed to be talking about the other guy as someone that was small from what I could gather. 
 
But at the end of the 11th minute, you can see/hear Chiarelli talking to Sweeney about Pastrnak and his concern he wouldn't be there. His scouts all seemed to think he would, but you can see how much he was crushing on him. 
 
As an aside, "I love his two way" should be made into a Chiarelli auto-correct or added on to the adopt-a-prospect forum. It sounds so dirty.
 

McDrew

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In the Behind the B, they mention the other guy is "...A North American Kid" with size worries. 
 
Lets Look at the 5 before and after Pastrnak
20: Nick Schmaltz, 6'0", 183
21: Robby Fabbri, 5'10", 165
22: Kasperi Kapanen: Finnish
23: Conner Bleackley, 5'11, 195
24: Jared McCann, 6'1", 175
25: Pastrnak
26: Nikita Scherbak: Russian
27: Nikolay Goldobin: Russian
28: Joshua Ho-Sang: 5'11", 175
29: Adrian Kempe: Swedish
30: John Quenneville: 6'1", 186
 
Highlighted are the 2 smaller players drafted around Pastrnak that are North Americans.  I'm going to guess it was one of them. 
 

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If someone can read Scott Bradley's lips at around the 11:20 mark from the Behind the B, we could solve this vital mystery.
 

PedroSpecialK

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Considering how this team shies away from brash personalities, I'd wager almost anything that they weren't in on JHS.
 
Also looks like it's Fabbri on Bradley's lips
 

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I love Pasta so far, but JSH is a top 10 talent. His biggest issue is he's brash and he's black. That doesn't fly in the NHL (see the backlash against PK).

I would have LOVED if the Bruins grabbed him. He's the kind of talent they need in the pipeline.
 

PedroSpecialK

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Granted it's extremely early in both of their careers- but Pastrnak has more goals in pro hockey this year than JHS does in juniors. Pastrnak has 10 in 27 AHL games, 2 in 7 NHL games = 12 in 34 pro games. For context, Ho Sang has 8 in 32 OHL games.
 
Ho Sang's followed up his 32-43-85 (in 62 GP) campaign with a 8-37-45 (in 32 GP) campaign between Windsor and Niagara. He's also more of a playmaker down the middle - not exactly what the B's need right now, but at that point probably not drafting for position anyhow.
 
And JHS is a "me-against-the-world" type of player, coming across as kind of a prick in his early media appearances with NYI and before the draft. That's fine and it will probably serve him well in getting to the NHL. I'm sure that attitude had the B's concerned with his maturity and long-term development/coachability. Looking at a guy like Pastrnak as the alternative - and considering the team's strength up the middle - I'd say they chose very wisely.
 

Eddie Jurak

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The big risk with keeping him up is that he ends up playing for a different team before his second contract kicks in. Bergeron in 2003 was the last Bruin who made the team in his draft year and had a career with the Bruins. The core of the team is guys who made the team later (Lucic, Marchand, Krejci, probably Hamilton, Krug). Keeping Pastrnak is fine, unless it leads the Bruins to make a hasty judgment on him two years from now.

A lesser concern is that he's not quite ready but is partly getting by on the adrenaline of making the NHL for the first time. As it wears off in a few games, the caliber of his play will ebb.

Last, what happens if he turns in a couple of stinkers, say in games 14 and 15? Sometimes that happens with rookies, even good ones. Would that be enough to undermine Julien's confidence in him?

Or let's say the Bruins deal for a top 6 wing in a couple of weeks? Would he then slide down to line 3, then line 4 (good luck trying to produce offense on a line with Campbell), and then the press box? If so, better to send him down now and preserve the contract year.

Keeping him up might be the best decision, but there are a lot of ways it could backfire on them. And unlike most draftees, he does have the AHL option - and there's plenty more he can learn in the AHL.

Hard decision because the team is playing better. I think that if there is any thought of dealing for someone who would take Pastrnak's job, I would hold him out until that is no longer possible.
 

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Yeah he's sticking around. I think fatigue is going to be a real issue for him that I hope they monitor closely (and people don't bitch at Claude if he gets heathy scratched) but obviously he belongs here.
 

cshea

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I was a bit skeptical, but yeah, he stays. Too much skill. 2 goals, 9 SOG last night and made a few nice plays defensively as well. 
 

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The Four Peters said:
Yeah he's sticking around. I think fatigue is going to be a real issue for him that I hope they monitor closely (and people don't bitch at Claude if he gets heathy scratched) but obviously he belongs here.
I fully support him being scratched for 10 or so games the rest of the season. He's going to end up playing at least double the games he played last season against better competition. And he's focusing on getting bigger and stronger, probably on a more strenuous strength and conditioning program than he's ever had too. The priority should be him progressing physically and mentally without wearing down before the playoffs.
 

cshea

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The final rally on Pastrnak's night...2 goals, +4, 9 shots attempts (7 on goal), 72% ES CF, 57% zone start, and I believe he drew 2 penalties (one led to the Marchand goal on the delayed call).

Absurd. Can't fill up the stat sheet much more than that.
 

TheRealness

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TheShynessClinic said:
I love Pasta so far, but JSH is a top 10 talent. His biggest issue is he's brash and he's black. That doesn't fly in the NHL (see the backlash against PK).

I would have LOVED if the Bruins grabbed him. He's the kind of talent they need in the pipeline.
 
I'm going to go ahead and disagree with you here on Pasta. I LOVED that the Bruins grabbed him instead of JSH. Looks like an absolute theft at where they got him.
 

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TheRealness said:
 
I'm going to go ahead and disagree with you here on Pasta. I LOVED that the Bruins grabbed him instead of JSH. Looks like an absolute theft at where they got him.
 
Time will tell, obviously. But I think JSH has the higher upside long term - but is also a much higher risk of being a washout. 
 
I think Pastrnak is better suited for the Bruins right now, and probably even 4-5 years down the road. But I think JSH could end up being something special.
 
This quote always sticks with me about him - and about what he could be:
 
 
 
Three years ago, on a gifted Marlies GTHL team, the only difference between Ho-Sang and Connor McDavid was — Ho-Sang was the more electric player. You couldn’t take your eyes off him.