Bruins Pastrnak Embracing 2nd All-Star Experience

David Pastrnak will play in his second NHL All-Star Game tomorrow night in St. Louis. Tonight, the superstar forward will take part in the NHL’s Skills Competition. Last year, Pastrnak represented the Bruins well when he won the Accuracy Shooting title. He won’t get a chance to defend that title tonight, but he’s excited for what the weekend will hold.

“Last year was a lot of fun, getting to meet these guys, your opponents’ personalities and hang out a little bit and have fun,” Pastrnak told the media on Thursday at All-Star media day in St. Louis. “Really excited and a couple of them will be teammates for a couple days. It will be fun.”

There is one major difference for Pastrnak from last year’s event. This season, Pastrnak will represent the Bruins as the captain of the Atlantic Division. He was voted captain along with Connor McDavid (Pacific), Nathan MacKinnon (Central) and Alex Ovechkin (Metropolitan).

“It’s pretty heavy,” Pastrnak jokingly said Thursday. “I never had the ‘C’ before. It’s pretty heavy, it’s pulling me down the chair. It’s fun.”

Before he leads the Atlantic in the three-on-three tournament Saturday night, Pastrnak will be part of a first time event in the Skills Competition. He will be one of ten players, eight NHL’ers and two All-Star women, who will partake in the inaugural Shooting Stars event.

In this event, players will be stationed 30 feet above one of the goals and will try to shoot pucks at targets on the ice. Each target holds a different point value. It’s a unique event that is sure to challenge all of the participants.

“I usually go out there 30 feet high and shoot at targets every other day. I’m ready,” Pastrnak said with a laugh. “I can’t imagine. If I hit one target, I’m gonna be really happy, I’m not gonna lie to you guys.

“I hear there is a net over the fans, which made me really happy. Can’t hurt anybody, so that’s good.”

You can catch Pastrnak and the rest of the NHL All-Stars tonight at 8:00 pm est on NBCSN, Sportsnet and CBC.