David Krejci hopes to ride his speedy recovery from offseason hip surgery into a successful opening stretch of the regular season, but the young center doesn't want to stop there.
Krejci has been named to the 60-man preliminary roster for the Czech Republic Olympic team and is hoping to turn some heads in the first four months of NHL action and earn a spot on the finalized roster, according to ESPNBoston.com for the Games in February.
"If I'm playing good, I don't see any reason they wouldn't take me," said Krejci, who broke out for 73 points with Boston last season. "If there are that many better players, they won't. Hopefully I'm healed and playing good enough for them to take me."
The 23-year-old who signed a hefty offseason contract extension with the B's this summer has a very good shot at not only making the roster but serving as the team's No. 1 or No. 2 centerman. Only a few natural centers are on the 60-man preliminary roster alongside Krejci: Phoenix's Martin Hanzal, Montreal's Tomas Plekanec, 37-year-old former NHL player Martin Straka and 31-year-old Jan Bulis. New Jersey's Patrik Elias and New York's Vaclav Prospal can play center but are natural wingers.
Through the first nine games of the season, Krejci has struggled offensively, posting just four assists and no goals. The sluggish start of last year's Seventh Man Award winner can be blamed for the offseason surgery — a procedure that was supposed to keep him sidelined for the opening month of the regular season.
"I just want to get on the ice and feel great," he added. "I feel pretty good. But, it's like they said, the first couple months it's going to be sore."
Other notable Bruins who are vying for an Olympic roster spot for their respective countries are Tim Thomas (U.S.), Zdeno Chara (Slovakia), Marco Sturm (Germany) and Milan Lucic (Canada), depending on the young, injured winger's health.
