David Pastrnak Returns To Bruins Practice; Ondrej Kase Still Absent

And then there was one.

David Pastrnak returned to Boston Bruins practice on Wednesday morning in Brighton after missing the first two days of training camp. That means the only player yet to be spotted at Warrior Ice Arena is Ondrej Kase, who Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy thought would take part in Wednesday’s session.

Thus, it’s unclear why Kase did not take part in the workout.

Nevertheless, Pastrnak was out on the ice getting work in with a small group of players while many others were given a maintenance day. Cassidy explained Tuesday that he wasn’t holding the late start against either Pastrnak nor Kase, and on Wednesday morning he explained why he’s not worried about Pastrnak missing the first couple days.

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“Pasta’s always in good shape, so I’m sure he’s doing what he needed to do to get ready (in the Czech Republic). We didn’t monitor them on a daily basis,” Cassidy said over Zoom. “I suspect he’ll get right back up to speed, he’s a guy that loves the game so I’m sure he was around it in some capacity, whether it was rollerblading, skating, firing pucks, whatever he was doing in his spare time. He’ll be like the other guys, I’m sure he’ll take a little bit of time to get going, but I anticipate he’ll pick up where he left off, but time will tell on that part.

“Timing is important this time of the year I think for everybody,” Cassidy continued. “Can’t help but I think it’s going to be off a little bit, so the team that gets it back the quickest, the individuals that get it back the quickest — and especially with his shot, it will take some time. He’s got a great one-timer and his release is second to none in the National Hockey League, and let’s hope that’s up to speed. But again until he gets out there and plays at a high speed with people around him, it’s anybody’s guess. But like I said I anticipate he’ll be fine.”

The Bruins are expected to hold a full group workout Thursday, and we probably won’t know until then if Kase will be around for that.

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