BOSTON -- Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak will be made available to the Czech Republic for the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship, if the Bruins don't need him because of injuries, when the NHL roster freeze ends Monday, general manager Don Sweeney said Saturday.
Pastrnak, who has been out since Oct. 31 because of a nondisplaced fracture in his foot, recently completed a two-game conditioning stint with Providence of the American Hockey League.
"He is fully healthy and now we need to get him back to where he can impact our lineup," Sweeney said. "And if indeed he does join the [Czech] team on the 28th over in Finland, we think that based on last year, his experience there and rolling out of that tournament with the confidence that he had, that he'll come back to the full level that he had really had gotten to last year in impacting our lineup."
In 10 games for the Bruins this season, Pastrnak, 19, had two goals and two assists. Last season, he had 10 goals and 17 assists in 46 games after he was selected with the 25th pick in the 2014 NHL Draft.
The World Junior tournament began Saturday in Helsinki, when the Czech Republic lost to Russia 2-1. The Czech Republic next plays Slovakia on Monday.
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