"Definitely stings" - Boston Bruins' David Pastrnak explains his reasoning behind boycotting NHL's 4 Nation Face-Off tournament

Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak revealed on Monday that he will not be watching the NHL's 4-Nation Face-Off, set to take place between Feb. 12 and 20, 2025.

The 27-year-old Czech winger has been vocal about his disappointment regarding the NHL's decision to host the inaugural 4-Nation Face-Off between the USA, Canada, Sweden and Finland.

"I'm not gonna watch the tournament, to be honest," Pastrnak said. "It’s a huge disappointment. I don’t know much I can say. Definitely not happy about it. I understand that it’s a quick turnaround. It’s next year. They probably didn’t have much time to make it a bigger tournament."

David Pastrnak said the Czech Republic missing in the selected nations was the main reason:

“But Czech isn’t there. So it’s always a lot of players left out, so I’m not gonna watch the tournament, to be honest. So, just happy that the Olympics got accepted. Yeah, [it] definitely stings a little bit.”

Apart from Pastrnak, another top NHL talent, Leon Draisaitl (Germany), would not be at the tournament, which is set to replace the NHL All-Star Weekend in February 2025.

Is Olympic glory on the horizon for David Pastrnak?

David Pastrnak will make his Winter Olympics debut for the Czech Republic in 2026 after missing the chance to represent his country in the last two Olympic games. The Boston Bruins winger is pumped to finally lead his country on the big stage.

“I’m so pumped. I was open about it with you guys this whole time," Pastrnak said. "Obviously, very frustrating for me. I missed two of them already. So, looking forward to it — I’ll be 30, I hope I make the team. But I’m super excited and pumped that the deal got done. It is a couple years away from now, but once the news came, I definitely was happy.”

The Czech had an unimpressive 2022 Olympics run in Beijing as they finished their campaign ninth in the playoffs. The 1998 Winter Olympic winners are awaiting their return to the top, as their last medal came in 2006 when they finished third.