The Boston Bruins' Best Active Homegrown Player: Brought to You By Upper Deck
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There aren't many players that possess the game-to-game offensive threat that David Pastrnak does for the Boston Bruins, which makes the 28-year-old winger is The Hockey News' pick for the Bruins' Best Active Homegrown Player: Brought to You By Upper Deck.
The Bruins selected Pastrnak with the 25th overall pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, and it didn't take long for him to make an impact. He made his NHL debut later that year on Nov. 24, a 3-2 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. His first point came a week later on Dec. 1 on an assist to Brad Marchand in Boston's 3-2 loss against the Anaheim Ducks, and he scored twice in a 3-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on January 10 to mark his first NHL goals.
In the 10 years since he was drafted, Pastrnak has the most goals (348) and second-most points (727) of his draft class, behind only Leon Draisaitl (850), whom Edmonton selected third overall. His 348 goals since he entered the NHL in 2014-15 rank behind only Alex Ovechkin (431) and Auston Matthews (368) in the same span.
He led the Bruins in scoring in three of the past five seasons, including each of the last two, and he's finished no lower than second on the team since 2015-16. Since Pastrnak's rookie season, only Marchand (743) has scored more points for Boston than Pastrnak (727).
On a team and league level, Pastrnak has established himself as one of the top scoring threats, and he's taken it to another level in each of the past two seasons. In 2022-23, he led a Bruins team that set an NHL record with 65 wins in scoring with 113 points. It was the first time he exceeded 100 points in a single-season, and he followed it up with a 110-point campaign in 2023-24 despite playing without Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci at center due to their retirements.
Pastrnak etched his latest moment in Bruins Stanley Cup Playoff history in the first round with his overtime goal in Game 7 to lift Boston over the Toronto Maple Leafs and advance to the second round.
The Bruins are still looking to win their first Stanley Cup since 2011, but Pastrnak played an important role on the 2018-19 team that fell just short in seven games to the St. Louis Blues.
In terms of personal hardware, Pastrnak has one Maurice "Rocket" Richard trophy to his name. He and Ovechkin shared the honor after each scored 48 goals in 2019-20 to lead the NHL. Pastrnak has finished top-five in Hart Trophy voting twice, including a second-place finish in 2023. He was named an NHL First-Team All-Star in both seasons (2020 and 2023).
With all Pastrnak has accomplished through the first 10 years of his career, he still has plenty more ahead of him. The fact the Bruins drafted a player of his caliber with a late first-round pick has been a game-changer in extending the competitive trajectory of the franchise past the end of Bergeron's and Marchand's careers.