Recently, Krejci gave credit to the people who had so much to do with getting him back on the ice and playing close to two months earlier than expected after undergoing offseason hip surgery.
"I couldn't have done it without [strength and conditioning coach] Johnny Whitesides and [physical therapist] Scottie Waugh," Krejci said. "They were great with me and really stayed on top of me with the training schedule."
Krejci appreciates the work of the entire training staff and realizes that his decision to remain in Boston over the summer after the surgery may have been the best decision he's made thus far in his young career.
"I obviously was sad to not go home [to the Czech Republic] and see my family and friends, but at the same time, I don't know if I'm playing now if I didn't decide to stay here and work with them," Krejci said. "It really helped to have them here working with me all the time, staying on top of me. They push me hard but it made me push hard myself. That is why I'm playing now, so I'm happy I stayed here over the summer."
Krejci was the team's second-leading scorer with 73 points last season. And while he wants to start racking up points and helping his team on the scoreboard, he is grateful simply to be on the ice and knows his timing will return.
"I'm not that worried, it will come," Krejci said. "I am just happy to be playing right now. I feel great and the timing will come."
Following the Bruins' 4-1 loss last Thursday, Boston head coach Claude Julien was impressed with Krejci's performance in his first real action since Game 7 of the Carolina series last May.
"I think for a guy who hadn't played at all, he had a really good game," Julien said. "He was skating well and he made some good plays. You can see his hands are almost there, not to the point that we know they can be, but for a guy who hadn't played since last year, I give him a lot of credit for what he did."
