Boston Bruins
“Even watching the games, now — it’s hard to watch a little bit 1771445384 that I can’t be there and experience it.”
Pavel Zacha had ample time to rest during the Bruins’ extended break due to the ongoing Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina.
In an ideal scenario, the 28-year-old forward would much rather be on the ice with his fellow Czech countrymen — competing in the Winter Games for the first time in his pro career.
Instead, Zacha was at Boston’s team facility at Warrior Ice Arena on Wednesday — fielding questions from the media as Team Czechia’s quarterfinal bout against Team Canada played on a projector screen in the Bruins’ dressing room.
It’s been an eventful couple of weeks for Zacha, whose dream of representing his country in Italy came to an unfortunate end due to injury at the end of January.
“That was one of the most frustrating things, especially [doing] things you’re excited for — the outdoor [Stadium Series] game and the Olympics, especially mid-season,” Zacha said. “So to make the decision of not going was really hard. Especially, even watching the games, now — it’s hard to watch a little bit 1771445384 that I can’t be there and experience it. So it wasn’t the easiest.”
Zacha, a top-six stalwart in Boston over the last few seasons, was one of the first six NHL players named to Czechia’s Olympic roster back in June 2025 — a testament to his standing as one of his country’s top players and an expected key contributor for the anticipated international tournament.
The versatile forward’s stock has continued to soar during the 2025-26 season, with Zacha ranking fourth on the Bruins in scoring with 37 points (15 goals, 22 assists) through 54 games this season.
But after playing in 242 out of a possible 246 games during his first three seasons in Boston, the injury bug stung Zacha at the worst possible time.
During Boston’s 6-3 win over the Flyers on Jan. 29, Zacha took a high hit from Nicolas Deslauriers — prompting him to leave the game with just 10:46 of ice time logged.
It would be the last time that Zacha took to the ice, with his lingering upper-body injury precluding him from taking part in Boston’s two road games against the Lightning and Panthers earlier this month.
Still, there was optimism that Zacha would still be cleared in time for the flight to Italy.
But when he didn’t show major signs of improvement, Zacha sad it was a “mutual” decision between himself, the Bruins, and the Czechia National Team to give up his spot on the roster.
“I thought right away that I was going to be going because it was getting better, and then it just kind of was stagnant, and it was starting to get worse,” Zacha said of his injury. “Three days [after] was good, and then it started getting worse the next five, six days.
“So with a timeline after like a week and a half, I kind of knew that it’s probably not gonna happen to come back. So it was even more frustrating because I was hoping — the first three, four days, it was on the right track. It just couldn’t get better.”
Zacha appears to have turned a corner in recent days, taking part in Wednesday’s practice while donning a red, non-contact sweater.
With Boston’s next game not until Feb. 27 against Columbus, Bruins head coach Marco Sturm believes Zacha is on track to hit the ice running once regular-season action resumes.
Still, Boston’s bench boss admitted it was tough to see Zacha miss the cut after waiting years for his Olympic opportunity.
“Timing is everything,” Sturm noted. “And unfortunately, timing was not on his side … It’s just very unfortunate. I know he was really bummed, and you only have those opportunities once in a while. We feel for him.”
Amid those frustrations, Zacha tried to draw on the silver linings, noting that he has been given a longer runway to recover for the stretch run.
Boston — who currently sits in the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference — will play 16 total games in March as part of a sprint to the finish line.
“Having some time off, also in the long run for our season — it’s good to have,” Zacha said. “I’m trying to think about it positively, even though the first couple days were hard to think positively at all about this.”
David Pastrnak and Team Czechia saw their Olympic run come to an end on Wednesday, as their efforts of upsetting Canada fell short via a 4-3 overtime loss in Milan. Pastrnak scored a power-play tally on Wednesday and finished with two goals and three assists in five games.
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