WILMINGTON – There is clearly a long way to go before it becomes a reality, but it was telling that Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli wouldn’t rule out 18-year-old first round pick David Pastrnak possibly cracking the NHL lineup this fall. The GM simply said “You never know” when presented with the scenario, and just four years underwent the same process with a similarly-sized Tyler Seguin as an elite hockey talent that also happened to be a teenager.
In terms of formalities, the Bruins have to sign Pastrnak to a rookie entry level contract and make arrangements for him to be at training camp in September, and would have to figure something out with the Swedish League given that the player still has one year on his European contract.
Chiarelli didn’t seem overly anxious that any of those things would be a major stumbling block, and said “if I can sign him, then he’ll be in training camp.”
“There’s a progression right? There’s the camp: ‘bigger, stronger, faster.’ There’s the preseason: ‘bigger, stronger, faster.’ And there’s the under-20 players you’ve got that cushion, you’ve got those nine games again ‘bigger, faster, stronger’ regular season,” said Chiarelli. “There’s three levels there and in my time here -- and before I was here -- we’ve had under 20-players play, I’ve had been part of under-20 players playing, teenagers, and they go through each of their stages, and it’s another test, another test and then you make the decision.”
For his part, Pastrnak is excited for whatever comes next, and was happy with the way things went for him standing out among the B’s best 23 prospects invited to camp.
