Death, grief, growth: David Pastrnak’s Swedish experience changed his life (2024)

Nobody enjoys NHL life more than David Pastrnak. The 23-year-old is the personification of a Champagne bottle: Fun, bubbly and explosive.

Pastrnak arrives at the rink in threads that are louder than Metallica, usually completing his wardrobe with a fashionable lid. The right wing could fill a Goodyear factory with all the rubber he flings into the TD Garden crowd during warmups.

That Pastrnak has already scored 169 goals, most of any player drafted in 2014, signals that putting pucks in nets has become routine for No. 88. It is anything but so. Pastrnak’s celebrations — a cupped hand to his ear, a bird-like wave, an arms-out expectation of applause — indicate that he delights in the activity of scoring goals, with each red light serving as an opportunity to express his pleasure.

“Never had a bad day at the rink,” David Backes, teammate for parts of the last four seasons, once said.

It may be that a person can only experience such an enhanced degree of happiness after suffering pain in equal measure. On May 21, 2013, Milan Pastrnak, David’s father, died after a five-year fight with skin cancer. Pastrnak is the only current Bruin who has lost a parent.

That Pastrnak was far away, living in a different country at the time his father passed, only amplified his grief.

An NHL springboard

Czech Republic does not fall short in producing NHL talent. Jakub Voracek, Jakub Vrana, Ondrej Palat, Radek Faksa, Dominik Kubalik, Pavel Zacha and Filip Zadina are some of the NHL players that call Czech Republic their homeland.

It does not mean, however, that the Czech Extraliga is an optimal platform for NHL preparation. All seven of the aforementioned players migrated overseas prior to their draft years. Respectively, they played for Halifax (QMJHL), Linkoping (Swedish Elite League), Drummondville (QMJHL), Kitchener (OHL), Sudbury (OHL), Sarnia (OHL) and Halifax.

Pastrnak was no different. As a 15-year-old playing for AZ Havirov and HC Ocelari Trinec, Pastrnak identified the NHL as a realistic destination. His chances were best if he left home and developed his game somewhere else.

“If we all knew, then we would make Czech hockey better,” Pastrnak said when asked of his country’s limitations. “In Czech, you have your practice and have one rink. You don’t have options to go by yourself on the ice.”

Pastrnak considered Canadian major junior. He was wary, however, because of his size. At that age, Pastrnak was lighter and spindlier than most of his peers. The CHL does not take mercy on anyone. Skinny Euros are no exception.

So upon consultation with father Milan, mother Marcela and his advisers, Pastrnak identified Sodertalje in Sweden’s second division as an appropriate proving grounds for 2012-13. Hockey on the 100-foot-wide surfaces would be less brutish than that within the 85-foot Canadian trenches. Sweden would be closer to home.

Naturally, the teenager had reservations. Pastrnak would have to learn Swedish and English, the latter being hockey’s mother tongue and practically required in Sweden. He was not optimistic about adopting both.

“You tell yourself that people who live somewhere, they learn English in two months,” Pastrnak said. “I was telling myself, ‘It’s impossible. Zero chance I can learn English. How? How do you understand?’ ”

The dream of the NHL combined with Pastrnak’s sense of daring overtook his caution. It is not surprising to learn that a right wing who competes at smoking speed and scrambles atop a watchtower on the Great Wall of China seeks thrills in life.

“I’m exactly the kind of person like that,” Pastrnak said. “I love these adventures. I’m very friendly and talkative. I found friends right away, even though I couldn’t speak any English.”

Immersion proved to be the solution, whether he was at the rink or in school with his teammates. He became fast friends with teammate William Nylander, a Canadian-born Swede whom he is tight with to this day.

“All of a sudden, I started to understand some words,” Pastrnak said. “I don’t know how. I started learning and talking more with friends. The guys there were so friendly and nice. They helped me out.”

Now, Pastrnak’s English is very good. His Swedish has declined through lack of practice, but he estimated he still understands 75 percent of what is spoken.

Language, however, was not what pulled Pastrnak toward Sweden.

A dream fit, then tragedy

In 2012, Pastrnak arrived to what felt like a dream. Sodertalje offered everything a hockey-crazed 16-year-old wanted: Three sheets, outdoor shooting pads, workout facilities — a home away from home. Pastrnak could go on the ice anytime he wanted. He consumed all of it.

“I was so blown,” Pastrnak said of his opportunities. “I was spending a couple hours by myself on the ice every day. Not even just skating or anything. Just playing with the puck and shooting.”

As an NHL player, Pastrnak takes joy in one-on-one attacking, stickhandling at all-out speed through traffic, even snapping in goals between his legs.

The informal sessions in Sodertalje helped to foster Pastrnak’s creativity. Pastrnak applied what he learned during his first season, scoring 12 goals and 17 assists in 36 games in U-20 competition. Internationally, Pastrnak played for Czech Republic’s World Championship U-18 entry.

Pastrnak was happy. After his first season, he returned to Sodertalje to prepare for the 2013-14 season, his draft year.

During summer training, Pastrnak received a call from his mother. Milan Pastrnak, 51, was dead.

“Really sad,” Pastrnak recalled. “My mom called me really early in the morning. What can you do when you’re by yourself in Sweden, getting this phone call from your mom? Obviously tough.”

Milan Pastrnak had been a good player. He played professionally in the Czech Republic and Germany. In 1997-98, Pastrnak was the leading scorer (18-61—79) on a team that included future Bruin Dennis Seidenberg. Following retirement, Pastrnak coached hockey in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and England while keeping watch over David and eldest son Jakub, who is five years older.

David Pastrnak returned to the Czech Republic for his father’s funeral. Sodertalje club officials insisted he stay at home for as long as he wanted.

Pastrnak’s response to grief was to return to Sweden in short order. By then, making the NHL was Pastrnak’s calling. His safe space was the rink. On the ice, the teenager deferred heartache to chase solace and purpose for hours … and hours … and hours.

“Hockey, in that moment, was my only thing,” Pastrnak said. “And obviously my mom and brother. These two things were the only things I could get through it with. Every time I went to the rink, the first 10 minutes, I would think about it. Then, all of a sudden, I was in the moment — working and practicing.”

In 2013-14, the 17-year-old Pastrnak scored eight goals and 16 assists while playing with and against men. He was limited to 36 games because of a concussion, which he sustained after gaining an offensive-zone entry, cutting into the middle of the ice and getting his clock cleaned.

The injury and his weight (167 pounds) made NHL teams cautious about applying high draft capital toward his services. The Bruins had similar concerns. But they liked Pastrnak’s skating, skill, competitiveness and love for hockey and life.

On June 27, 2014, after 24 teams said no, the Bruins said yes to Pastrnak.

“He competes and he’s got skill,” Keith Gretzky, the Bruins’ former director of amateur scouting, said at the time. “We thought we needed more skill. He handles the puck real well. He protects the puck well. He’s just full of energy. You gravitate to him.”

After hearing his name called at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center, Pastrnak clutched both fists, kissed them and raised them skyward. It was for his father, gone for just over a year.

Family man

On Saturday, Pastrnak will be the captain of the Atlantic Division team at the All-Star Game. A cluster of similarly marquee players said thanks-but-no-thanks to their St. Louis invitations and yes please to island retreats.

Pastrnak, on the other hand, was happy to go to St. Louis in January. It is another adventure fueled by hockey, which is both his livelihood and his life.

Pastrnak will represent the Bruins not just as the league’s leading goal scorer (37), but also one of the sport’s pied pipers. Everything about Pastrnak says cool, from his tinted Bauer visor — introduced for the 2019 Winter Classic, adopted for good shortly thereafter — to the wagging tongues of his skates to the gold-handed gloves that match the sheen of his lethal Nexus 2N Pro stick. It is no wonder that his skill and smile have made Pastrnak one of the NHL’s most popular players.

“I’ve been like this since I was a kid,” Pastrnak said. “I love it. I’m enjoying it. I love these moments. Not many people can be as lucky as we are. I enjoy every moment, trying to be positive every day. My big thing is anytime you’re sad, it kind of weighs you down, sadness. Just try to be positive, happy and enjoy every second we’ve got.”

Pastrnak loves Boston. Vinoteca di Monica in the North End is a favorite restaurant. He is friends with Patriots star Julian Edelman. Pastrnak attends Celtics games. He stars in Dunkin’ commercials.

Boston has become another home for his mother and brother. Marcela Ziembova and Jakub Pastrnak, who is a policeman, visit for Christmas every year. Jakub joined his brother for the team’s fathers’ trip to Philadelphia and Nashville in 2017-18. Marcela attended the mothers’ trip to Nashville earlier this month.

For Pastrnak, family time allows him to remember good times. His mother and brother make him appreciate what he has — which, in a way, is both parents, even now.

“I know he’s still keeping an eye on me,” Pastrnak said of his father. “He’s with me everywhere I go.”

(Top photo of Pastrnak during a return to Sweden this summer: Johanna Lundberg/NHLI via Getty Images)