Bruins forward David Pastrnak spoke to reporters on Tuesday for the first time since his mysterious absence from Bruins’ camp. The 24-year-old traveled with the team on Sunday to Toronto to begin settling in for the NHL restart.
Pastrnak was supposed to quarantine for 14 days after initially returning to the United States from the Czech Republic (where he spent time while the season was paused due to COVID-19). Yet he and teammate Ondrej Kase skated with a group of other hockey players in Malden prior to the end of their initial quarantine, breaking with the NHL’s Phase 2 protocol.
Because of that, he and Kase had to observe another 14-day quarantine when the Bruins discovered what had occurred.
“First off, I was never sick so I don’t think I did anything wrong,” Pastrnak said. “So, it was a tough bounce there and unfortunately after what happened I had to miss some time, obviously the protocol is to stay in quarantine, so unfortunately I had to be at home for a while, it’s nothing I can control.”
Pastrnak apologized for the setback.
“Obviously, I take full responsibility for my actions and I am sorry but [like] I said, I’m glad I’m back, I feel good out there.”
.@pastrnak96 on returning to practice yesterday: “It was a really long month. Really happy that thing is over and I’m finally back with the guys.” pic.twitter.com/HMAMQLQQlL
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) July 28, 2020
Now back with the team, Pastrnak spoke about the difficulties of a quarantine that doubled in length.
“To be honest, it’s been really tough,” Pastrnak admitted. “Twenty-eight days in quarantine. The toughest part about it was that I was healthy the whole quarantine, but at the same time I still couldn’t do anything. So it was really tough, and frustrating at the same time. It was a really long month. I’m really happy that thing is over and I’m finally back with the guys.”
As for being back on the ice, the Bruins’ leading scorer had an unsurprising response.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Pastrnak. “It’s been a long wait, and I felt really good, actually.”
While there remains no word on when Kase will return to the team, Pastrnak is already back to his usual routines, including partaking in sports other than hockey. He found time for some table tennis with teammate David Krejci.
Czech the volley. 🏓 @pastrnak96 | DK46 pic.twitter.com/Kbwhzg5iMZ
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) July 28, 2020
This time, it was Krejci who emerged the winner, defeating Pastrnak 21-16.
