dancing queen 》david pastrnak [completed]

epilogue

October 4, 2036

Em is standing on a carpet at center ice not believing this is actually happening right now. David is about to have his jersey retired by the Bruins after playing with them his entire career.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please bring your attention to center ice for tonight's special ceremony of David Pastrnak's jersey retirement," the PA announcer says through the speakers, silencing the crowd.

A spotlight shines on the owner as he takes the podium.

"Good evening everyone and welcome to the TD Garden. Tonight we honor a special man who helped bring 2 Stanley Cups, the greatest trophy in sports, to this city. Throughout his career, he has won the Rocket Richard Trophy, awarded to the league's top goal scorer, 5 times. He finished his career with 1,560 games played, 710 goals scored, 780 assists, and 1,490 points in an illustrious 21 year career, all with the Boston Bruins. He played in 100 playoff games, and had 45 goals, 50 assists, for 95 points.

What may have been more spectacular than his on ice accomplishments was his contributions off the ice to the Greater Boston Area and throughout the entire state of Massachusetts. He and his wife, Emely, started a program to help underprivileged children from racial and ethnic minority groups play the game we all love so much. Every year, they participate in the WEEI Jimmy Fund Radio Telethon to raise money for cancer research. They donate food, money, and supplies to homeless shelters and group/foster homes all throughout the state. They also made contributions to areas outside of this state.

When the Dominican Republic was hit with a devastating Category 5 hurricane a few years ago, they sent food, water, and other basic supplies to the island where his wife's family are natives of.  He also started a foundation to help underprivileged children and families in his native Czech Republic. He is a big advocate for diversity and has helped the league with its initiative to grow the game in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. He also helps the league with their initiative to provide more access to the game for underprivileged youth throughout the world.

As you all already know, tonight we are honoring the great David Pastrnak and after tonight no one will ever wear #88 for the Boston Bruins ever again. Now to continue on with this ceremony, I would like to announce the next speaker as someone we all know very well in this organization, give it up for Team President and Hall of Famer, Cam Neely."

The crowd erupts at the mention of the Hall of Famer and team executive.

"Good evening everyone. Today is a special day. Tonight, we honor one of the greatest players our franchise has ever seen and the greatest player to ever wear #88 for the Boston Bruins. That player is a man I have grown to know well over the years as Team President. I have been in this position for a long time and have had the honor of getting to know David very well. I saw him blossom from a scrawny, undersized European prospect to a future Hall of Famer in front of my eyes.

I'll take you back to Philadelphia in June of 2014. It was the night of the draft and we had just announced David as our pick. When I shook his hand on the stage, I knew he was going to be good for us. I didn't know at the time, that he would be the future face of this franchise and one of the best players in franchise history. That year, I believe we made the best pick in the draft. While 24 other teams passed on David, we did not. We took a risk on him while other teams passed him because they didn't know if his game would transfer well in a tougher and more physical league. Those teams were wrong. David's game transferred well to the NHL and he proceeded to dominate the league alongside other generational talents like MacKinnon, McDavid, Draisaitl, Eichel, Matthews, just to name a few.

So in the end, I'd like to say that Peter Chiarelli and I made the best pick that year and I know this jersey retirement, the stats, and David's future Hall of Fame induction will back me up on that statement. Now, without further ado, I'd like to bring up the man who was his coach for many years, Bruce Cassidy."