“David Pastrňák's Recipe for Success: How 'Pasta' Became the Bruins' Offensive Powerhouse”

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Pasta's Recipe For Success - Jan. 14, 2022 - By Matt Kalman

Three years ago, David Pastrnak told the hockey world a dad joke.

“Hey ref, check your voicemail, you missed some calls,” the Boston Bruins right winger quipped from a penalty box on the set of a nationally televised commercial for Dunkin’ iced coffee.

The line became as ubiquitous around the rink as players urging each other to “get pucks deep” and fans yelling for their team’s power play to “shoot.”

It was also the first look the rest of North America had at the personality the Bruins and their fans were falling in love with.

"ANYTIME IT’S ON HIS STICK ON THE ELBOW, THERE’S A PRETTY GOOD CHANCE IT’S GOING TO GO IN THE NET." – former Bruins assistant coach Jay Pandolfo

Pastrnak, who’d go on to make more Dunkin’ spots the next two years, quickly learned the key to acting was the same as his key to success on the ice. “Before then, I didn’t have any great experience of doing TV commercials or anything,” Pastrnak said. “So (the success of the first commercial) helped me and reminded me that anything I do, like playing hockey, I have to have the most fun to play the best…that’s when I’m at my best. And it kind of reminded me the same thing with the Dunkin’ commercial. I had so much fun filming that scene with them, that’s why it created great results.”

Pastrnak’s fun rise to on-ice stardom began when he fell to the Bruins with the 25th pick in the 2014 draft and proceeded to score 10 goals in 46 games across the 2014-15 campaign as an 18-year-old rookie. He then broke out offensively when he scored 34 goals in 2016-17. From the start of 2016-17 through late December 2021, Pastrnak ranked fifth in the NHL with 183 goals in 367 games and third with 70 power-play goals in the same stretch. He shared the NHL goal lead with Alex Ovechkin in 2019-20 with 48 apiece.

Although he’s expanded his on-ice repertoire, Pastrnak’s one-timer from the left faceoff circle is a signature shot goalies can’t stop even when they know it’s coming.

As a teenager, Pastrnak may have lacked the strength that would’ve hinted at his future as a consistent rocket launcher. But former Bruins assistant coach Jay Pandolfo, who worked in player development when Pastrnak arrived on the scene, witnessed him do more than just put on weight to become a force. “It’s been really impressive because I don’t think anyone thought he was going to have a one-timer like that when he first entered the league,” Pandolfo said. “Not like that. And obviously anytime it’s on his stick on the elbow, there’s a pretty good chance it’s going to go in the net. He’s developed that, and that’s him working on it.”

"I LOVE WHEN THE GUYS CHIRP ME FOR THE SUITS. TRUST ME, IT’S EVERY GAME. I COME THERE AND THEY ALWAYS CHIRP ME." – David Pastrnak

Offensively, there are elements to Pastrnak’s game beyond his shot. “He’s underrated in terms of how well he passes the puck,” said retired NHL defenseman John-Michael Liles, who played with Pastrnak in Boston for parts of two seasons. “And a lot of times he can surprise you as a teammate because he does make those plays that you don’t necessarily see, whether it’s through a couple of skates or a pile of bodies, and all of a sudden, it’s on your stick. Those are some of the things that maybe he’s a little bit underrated for is his passing and his vision with the puck.”

Now 25, Pastrnak is more than an offensive weapon. He and linemates Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron take on some of the toughest defensive assignments nightly. And Pastrnak has even worn an alternate captain’s ‘A’ at times, a manifestation of a desire he describes as wanting to be “a good example for the young guys and the young players and overall, the kids in the whole world, you know.”

He also shows leadership by keeping his teammates loose. That cheerful guy joking in the commercials also horses around with teammates during pre-game warmups, interacts with kids through the glass and goes out of his way to make wives and children feel welcome at team events. “He’s a guy that has an infectious personality in the sense that he’s just happy-go-lucky, loves playing hockey, loves being around the guys,” Liles said. “And he’s one of those guys that you want to be around, you want to spend time with.”

He’s also a guy teammates want to tease. Pastrnak shows up to games dressed to the nines in the types of suits and hats you’d expect to see on a runway, not underneath arena stands. The clothes are a source of expression for the player and a cause for camaraderie among the rest of the Bruins. “I love when the guys chirp me for the suits,” Pastrnak said. “Trust me, it’s every game. I come there and they always chirp me. It’s usually one of those where they say that I’m crazy, but then, at the same time, they feel like, ‘I wish I could pull that off.’ But then I’m like, ‘You can, what is holding you back?’”

The suits attracted television cameras that fixated on his arena arrivals. Then Keith Lusby, vice-president, Dunkin’ connections and partnerships, noticed the cup of coffee in the star player’s hand. Lusby had been searching for someone who was already into his company’s brand.

And thus, a commercial star was born. “He’s amazing,” Lusby said. “There was just this thing about him that just translates naturally to the camera that just made him so much fun.”

Fun to watch, fun to play with but with serious skill that has carried him near to his status as one of the NHL’s biggest stars – Pastrnak is no joke.