After suffering an injury, everyone is wondering how Boston's driving force is fairing for the next NHL season, which starts on Friday in Prague.
"The best he can be! Plus, he hasn't been on the ice as much this summer, I've seen that he's more eager to play hockey than ever," Pala, who is Pastrnak's trusted advisor on physical preparation, said in this exclusive interview with Flashscore.
David finished the World Championship with an injured hip and was facing surgery. Professor Kolar miraculously put him back together. How did that affect his preparation this summer?
"With that, he took a huge break from hockey for a while. Which was good for him, he had a very long season. (laughs) He trained a lot, but a bit less than he is used to. However, he did his best for what he has."
Did he have to cut back on anything because of the aforementioned difficulties?
"At the beginning, for sure, he only went to the physiotherapist. He went to Mr. Kolar's clinic every day, several times he was with him in person, they solved everything together. He went through this phase honestly, I'm glad for that. I think it helped him a lot.
"And according to the latest news, the operation is a blessing in disguise. Although you never know with him, he's so strange in that way, he never says he's in pain. If he confides in anyone, it's the doctors. And all he tells us is that he's going into surgery and to call him in two hours." (smiles)
What exactly was his problem?
"I don't think there was just one, the hip is quite tricky... There was more to it."
It's a complicated part of the body...
"Exactly. He always tried to explain it to me, but I wasn't really looking for it. I knew he was in the best possible hands with Mr. Kolar. He did a great job with him."
What exactly did these difficulties affect during the off-season?
"He couldn't go on the ice much, instead he set up physio and added a bit of gym to that. He did his five or six sessions a week. Admittedly on a different basis than he's used to, but the last month from mid-August to mid-September he was already training like in other years.
"By then he had more treatments, electrotherapy and stuff like that. It wasn't like the usual when he'd come to the gym, lift his weights and be done in an hour."
He had to slow down a bit?
"He's not the youngest anymore. I'm glad that we talk about things like warming up before training and cooling down after. Also about nutrition. And the gut, I always say. (laughs)
"Now he's more careful. His body is already worn out from the years in the NHL, he feels that he needs to slow down a bit."
Who of you two actually lifts more in the gym? You, the conditioning coach or him, the NHL pro?
"See, we never measured that. However, I think I'd definitely do him for some things. He's tremendously strong on one-legged exercises, and various lunges with weights. He's got it pretty much worked out.
"I saw him once, I got a chance to compare, his legs are unbelievable. We did a static split squat once, and a back dumbbell lunge. He had 90 kilos loaded, nonsense! You'd struggle to squat on two legs, he did it on one. His lower body is far different than anything I've ever encountered in anyone's training."
His summer training was also special in that he spent it very socially. The long celebration of the World Championship title flowed almost seamlessly into several weddings, including his own. Was there any moment when you had to remind him in a friendly way to put the brakes on?
"I haven't had to even once, he's a really huge pro at this. He knows when to stop, when to slow down. He's always thinking about what feeds him. He'll never cease to amaze me in that regard for probably the rest of my life."
Can he realize halfway through a beer that that's enough and go home...
"Exactly. I'll give you an example. When we're in Prague, we often go for a beer together. We used to sit there until closing time, now it's the other way around. We have dinner, three or four beers and then we go home because the next day he goes to train. That's where he's strong. He knows what to do and what makes him good on the ice."
During the season, you're only in contact by phone most of the time. What's stood out to you from talking about NHL conditioning?
"A lot of things. We do it very differently here than they do, also because of the different opportunities and facilities. I'm always interested in what a player does when he's out of the lineup or injured. In the first season, he told me: 'You don't want to go to the gym if you don't play a match, they almost beat the soul out of you!'
"Now I'm more asking about the nutritional stuff they give them to even handle the workload of the season. He arrives at the place, has his drink ready, kicks it in and he's done. He's got vitamins and minerals... There are so many games during the season that maintaining muscle mass is handled that way rather than in the weight room."
And has there ever been a situation where he's called you saying: 'Hey, they're making me do this here. Is this still cool?'
(laughs) "There were a couple of things like that, like a heavy deadlift before a match. However, we rather laugh about them in hindsight. He would never say about something, 'I'm not going to do that!'
"At first, they forced him into questionable exercises, but then they knew how he played so they stopped. There was a big difference between when he started and now. He's in a position now where they're treating him differently. They pour it on the youngsters and let him go about his business."
What's the key to his conditioning? Some people focus on strength, others on dynamics...
"He needs to be strong, he needs to have some weight to stand up to the games. Of course, if someone thinks that as an exceptional shooter, he trains his arms, he doesn't. He doesn't like to train them. However, when he goes to warm up 82 times before a game and just hits the puck, they automatically grow.
"He certainly doesn't need to improve his swing anymore. He always puts armwork aside, he enjoys his legs more. He always says, 'My legs feed me, my arms feed me, but mostly it's my head.'"
He doesn't like running either, does he?
"There are very few people who make him run. We go for a run now and then in America when they have a few days off over Christmas. Then the next day he says he doesn't want to sit at home, gets up and goes for a four-and-a-half-kilometre run with me. There's a view, we run up the stairs, sit down for a while...
"In the Czech Republic, however, no one takes him anywhere other than tennis or football, which he loves."
So, he's prepared for the season but will he surpass his incredible points total from last season (110) in the regular season?
"Definitely! He's tremendously consistent. Plus, he's done so many things over the last year and now this summer so he's absolutely mentally fine. And then he can do magic... I think that'll translate into a lot of points."
Out of the things mentioned, is there one thing that stands out as key to the season ahead?
"He's hugely relieved that he's finally married. It was always in the back of his mind what it was going to look like, planning the whole thing... This was a big milestone.
"During the season it affected him a little bit, sometimes he complained that he had to deal with something around the wedding, that it was very demanding. Now he'll have his peace, get back on track and go. Hopefully, it will be a season to remember for a long time."