David Pastrnak will make his Boston Bruins preseason debut Friday night against the New York Islanders in Bridgeport, Conn.
The B’s 2014 first-round draft pick has been medically cleared after missing the first five preseason games and several practices because of a shoulder injury suffered on the third day of training camp. The 18-year-old right winger has practiced several times this week.
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“Sometimes, a guy doesn’t have a lot of opportunities to showcase what he can do, and unfortunately for David, that’s the case,” Bruins head coach Claude Julien said Thursday.
“He’s a young player, so for us to keep him here, there’s a lot of things we have to see. He’s not a very big player, so can he handle the strength of this league, overall? We know his skill level and skating is good, but he’s going to have to show us that, if he’s able to play in these games. If not, then we come to an ever tougher decision to make, so that’s something we’d end up discussing just before we make our final roster decisions with everybody.”
The Bruins also recalled forwards Justin Florek, Seth Griffith, Alexander Khokhlachev and Ryan Spooner, as well as defensemen Chris Breen and Zach Trotman for Friday’s game. These players were released from B’s training camp earlier in the preseason.
Friday’s matchup with the Islanders is the last road game on the preseason schedule. Boston concludes the preseason Saturday versus the Detroit Red Wings at TD Garden.
