Nosek on Signing with Bruins: 'I'm Here to Win'

BostonBruins.com - Tomas Nosek admits that the last 10 days were pretty nerve-racking.
In each of the past three offseasons, the Czech native inked one-year contracts with the Vegas Golden Knights, leaving him to play for a new deal each season. But by the time Wednesday afternoon came around, the veteran forward was feeling far more at ease after signing a two-year contract with the Bruins with a $1.75 million annual cap hit.
"The last [three] years I was signing one-year contracts. I'm happy that I signed at least two years this summer. Money is better, too," Nosek said with a smirk from his hometown of Pardubice, Czech Republic. "I'm very happy but I'm not gonna lie, I was nervous and my family was nervous too."

Now that his contract status is secure, the 28-year-old's hockey focus is dialed in on one thing: winning.
"I think the ambition of this team is very high. That's what I like," said Nosek, who scored two goals in Game 1 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final for the Golden Knights. "I want to play every year in playoffs. I want to play every year for the Cup. I think that was the main reason why I picked Boston. When I look at the roster, I see a very good team.
"When I played against Boston, it was always a very hard team to play against. And the city is nice. I've been there a couple times. I like it. It's more like a European city for me in the U.S. It's a nice city and I'm excited to be there and happy to be there."

Everything else you need to know about the new Bruins forward:
Last team:Vegas Golden Knights
Position:Center/Wing
Height:6 feet, 2 inches
Weight:205 pounds
Shoots:Left
Birthday:Sept. 1, 1992
Hometown:Pardubice, Czech Republic
Instagram: @noseto19
Miscellaneous:The undrafted free agent was a dependable piece of the Golden Knights' lineup for the past four seasons after being selected by Vegas in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft from Detroit. Nosek scored eight goals each of the last three seasons and seven in Vegas' inaugural 2017-18 campaign.
Last season, Nosek notched a career high 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) in just 38 games, while jumping up from the fourth line to the third line during the postseason.
"I think I started to play a little bit more on the third line with more ice time. When I have some points streaks, my confidence went up. And I think [with] most of the guys, it's all about confidence and I found it last year, finally…hopefully I will bring it this year, too," Nosek said when asked what led to his offensive uptick last season.
The Czech native also ranked second on the Golden Knights in faceoff win percentage (51.7%) and third in faceoffs taken (387) and faceoffs won (200) in 2020-21.
"I think it's pretty obvious for me, bottom-six guy, be good defensively, create something offensively, too, good penalty killer, and hopefully help the team win a game," Nosek said of his expected role with the Bruins. "I'm here to win and I want to win. It doesn't matter for me - if I score a goal, great. If not, the most important thing for me is to win hockey games and win the Cup. That's why I'm here. I want to do my best to prove that and hopefully we have a great team. I'm excited for this opportunity."
Scouting Report:The versatile fourth-liner is a solid offensive threat from the bottom of the lineup who can play up if needed. Like fellow free-agent pick up and former Vegas teammate Erik Haula, Nosek is also strong on the draw.
"He arrives on time," said Bruins general manager Don Sweeney. "And that's probably the combination of the hockey sense and North-South attitude. That's important as well. Guys are going to come into learning a new structure and they can assimilate pretty easily in that sense. And again, a two-position player. Spends a lot of time in the offensive zone with puck possession and maybe you put some speed with him, and all of sudden you have a line that can play heavy but also the transition game.
"Tomas did a hell of a job in the playoffs last year, going in and playing a lot more on line three with Vegas."