David Pastrnak

One of the NHL's premier snipers, Pastrnak posted 40 goals a season ago and finished sixth in the league with 312 shots on goal, all while missing 10 games in April due to injury and rest. Pastrnak has made a living on the power play, posting no fewer than 26 points with the man advantage four of the past five years. That said, there is some risk this season with Pastrnak that we haven't seen in the past. For starters, linemate Brad Marchand will be out until at least late November due to hip surgery. Patrice Bergeron will be back, but he's recovering from an elbow injury prior to camp. The 26-year-old Pastrnak should be fine regardless, but it's a situation to monitor as training camp nears.

Pastrnak averaged a point-per-game in 2020-21, a noticeable dip in production after he had averaged just under 1.3 points-per-contest over the two previous seasons combined. His shooting percentage also dropped from a career-best 17.2 in 2019-20 to an 11.4 mark that was his lowest since his rookie season of 2014-15. Still, he was able to register 20 goals and 20 assists in 48 games before elevating his game during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, when he led the Bruins with 15 points in 11 contests. Buoyed by customary linemates Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, Pastrnak should be able to return to his customary 35-goal production in 2021-22.

Pastrnak continued to improve upon his already gaudy numbers during his sixth season in the league in 2019-20, setting career highs in goals (48), assists (47), plus-minus (21), power-play points (38) and shots on goal (279), all in just 70 games due to the NHL's shortened regular season. Pastrnak's 48 scores were enough to earn him his first major NHL award, a share of the Rocket Richard Trophy with Washington's Alex Ovechkin. As Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron have entered their early 30s, Pasta has emerged as Boston's best player, and one of the truly elite talents in the NHL. He's expected to be sidelined until mid-February while recovering from the hip surgery he underwent in October, but even if the NHL is able to start its season on its target date of Jan. 1, Pasta shouldn't be forced to miss more than around 20 games. While that will keep the 24-year-old winger out of the first-round pick conversation, he'll still be worth snagging at some point in the first three rounds of this year's fantasy drafts due to his tremendous upside alone.

Pastrnak, who scored 38 goals and 81 points (both career highs) in 66 regular-season games last season, is under contract with Boston through 2022-23 and is already entrenched as a top-six forward and power-play fixture for the team. At 23 years of age, the hard-shooting Pastrnak is one of the NHL's bright young stars, both in real and fantasy terms. The talented right winger was hampered by a thumb issue as the Bruins' lengthy postseason run played out, but he should be 100 percent by the the time training camp rolls around. It remains to be seen if he'll continue to skate on a loaded top line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, but regardless of his linemates, the dynamic Pastrnak is destined to see top-six work, as well as first-unit power-play duty, where his scorching one-timers are a deadly weapon.

Pastrnak is coming off a stellar 2017-18 season in which he logged 35 goals and 80 points in 82 games before racking up six goals and 20 points in 12 playoff contests. The 2014 first-rounder is obviously a rising NHL star, but there's still some untapped potential here, as the youngster just celebrated his 22nd birthday on May 25. It's no secret that the 6-foot, 188-pound winger brings plenty of energy, enthusiasm and dynamic skills (including a dangerous release on one-timers) to the rink. Where Pastrnak's game has continued to grow relates to his improving strength on pucks in one-on-one battles. Entrenched on Boston's top line this coming season, with regular power-play duty on tap, Pastrnak's fantasy outlook remains bright.

Pastrnak is coming off a breakout campaign during which he exploded for 34 goals and 70 points in 75 games. Since being chosen 25th overall by the Bruins in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, the 21-year-old has quickly emerged as one of the game's more dynamic young forwards. As last season approached, the biggest challenge facing the young Czech - whom the Bruins list at 6-foot, 181 pounds - was proving that he could withstand the physical rigors of the NHL. While Pastrnak will never be a bruiser, the offseason work that he put in over the summer paid off in spades, making the skilled and shifty winger heavier on the puck. There's still room for growth in all aspects of Pastrnak's game, who is with the B's for the long haul, courtesy of the six-year, $40 million deal he inked with the team in September.

Though Pastrnak just turned 20 in May, the native of the Czech Republic already has 97 NHL games under his belt, as he approaches his third campaign as a pro. While chosen 25th overall by the Bruins in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Pastrnak has emerged as one of the premier young talents in that class. He finished the 2015-16 season with 15 goals and 26 points in 51 games, with his second NHL campaign representing an up and down effort as a whole, hampered by injuries, most notably a fractured foot that the winger suffered on Oct. 31. Though the Bruins have had to endure occasional lapses in Pastrnak’s puck management and defensive positioning, the energetic skater continues to display a skill set and brand of offensive flare that portends a high fantasy ceiling. With a top-six role likely on tap for Pastrnak this coming season, doubling his 2015-16 numbers is attainable assuming he avoids missing significant time due to injury. Currently listed at 6-foot, 181-pounds, Pastrnak’s biggest challenge remains his ability to withstand the physical rigors of the NHL, but he’s still filling out physically. Continuing to round out his all-around game remains his on-ice homework this season, but the spark that he offers the B’s attack is already evident.

Selected 25th overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Pastrnak -- who the Bruins list at 6-foot-0 and 167 pounds -- was viewed as a long shot to crack the big club’s roster at any point during his age-18 season. While he unsurprisingly began the 2014-15 campaign with AHL Providence, Pastrnak got off to a strong start there and was eventually called up in late November by the B’s, who were looking for a spark up front. The skilled, but slight Pastrnak ended up recording 10 goals and 27 points in 46 games for the Bruins, displaying a nice blend of speed, creativity and offensive instincts that bode well for his future production. With the likes of Milan Lucic, Carl Soderberg and Reilly Smith having been cycled out, the retooling B’s are counting heavily on youngsters like Pastrnak and Ryan Spooner to build off the promising second halves they delivered last season. With that in mind, it’s quite possible that Pastrnak, who turned 19 in May, could end up working on a line with talented playmaking pivot David Krejci; in such a scenario, the winger could make an even bigger splash during his second pro campaign in North America. Holding up to the physical rigors of the NHL remains Pastrnak’s biggest challenge, though to his credit, he showed a refreshing willingness to battle for pucks with bigger and more experienced opponents last season.

The 2014 first-round pick from the Czech Republic spent last season in the Swedish B-League, appearing in 36 games and scoring eight goals to go with 16 assists. The 18-year-old Pastrnak will attend training camp with the B's and while the 6-foot, 171-pounder seems like a bit of a long shot at this stage to stick, his speed and skill opened eyes during the teams development camp. He’s a player to keep an eye on this fall, given that his listed position is right wing, an area where the Bruins have an opening.