Bruce Cassidy Reacts To David Pastrnak, Ondrej Kase’s Absences Thursday

After returning to practice Wednesday and putting his nifty one-time on full display, David Pastrnak was not available Thursday.

When the Boston Bruins took the ice Thursday morning at Warrior Ice Arena, the star winger, as well as fellow late arrival to camp Ondrej Kase, were nowhere to be found.

Though they were expected to take part, they were not involved in neither the main 9:30 session nor smaller 11:30 group.

“That was the plan (to have them),” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said Thursday morning. “We were going to have smaller numbers, there’s another group going out now, or at 11:30, Pasta and Kase will not be in it. As for the league (designation) it’s unfit to participate right now. Hopefully that changes in the near future, and yeah any time players miss a session where we expect them back at full speed then until he’s out there it is a concern for us as a team. But we’re just going to forge ahead.

Even with the absences, Cassidy isn’t completely overthinking it right now.

“Am I thinking ahead to being without those guys in the round-robin or the playoffs? No. That would be speculating,” Cassidy said. “But yeah, for today if I get word later today that the same thing is going to happen again tomorrow, then we start thinking about ‘OK, we’ve looked at a couple of guys (in their spots), anything else?’ We’ll meet as a staff to go through that. … But like I said, I’m not thinking too far ahead other than if it does turn into a long-term thing who is the best fit.”

The Bruins will practice again Friday.

Bruins Roster Projection 2.0: Is Anders Bjork Key To Ultimate Lineup Balance?