Claude Julien is not happy with David Pastrnak’s all around game. Pastrnak is one of the youngest, most exciting players in the NHL. But after the Bruins 5-4 overtime loss against the Philadelphia Flyers, which pushed the club’s record to 2-3-1, Julien had harsh words for the 19-year-old.
Julien was unhappy with Pastrnak’s inability to clear the puck into the Flyers defensive zone. Philadelphia proceeded to grab the puck, throw it up the ice and Wayne Simmonds sniped a goal past Tukka Rask. Here’s the play, you can see Pastrnak fanning on the clearing attempt at about the two second mark.
Julien said he didn’t want to single out Pastrnak alone for his bad play, but told the media he’s got to develop more defensive responsibility.
“It’s about respecting the game more than just scoring goals,” Julien told Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe. “There’s a learning curve there. There’s also a respect factor there. You’ve got to understand that there’s more to the game than just trying to be flashy. He had a tough night. You’re going to see him have some better nights down the road. He’s certainly not the single guy to point out. We were bad as a team. A lot of guys would just go in the battle, take a swing at the puck, and curl the other way. That’s not the way we play. It’s not the way we’re going to accept players to play on our team.”
Saying he doesn’t ‘respect’ the game is an interesting choice of words. To me it just looks like he flubbed the puck off the boards on a clearing attempt. The Bruins are asking a lot from him, and being so young, he’s still developing his defensive game. It’s expecting a lot of Pastrnak to be quality at both ends in the NHL at just 19.
