Pastrnak, Swayman Stay Sharp at the 2022 IIHF World Championship

BOSTON -Jeremy Swayman and David Pastrnak did not stay off the ice for long. Both headed to Tampere & Helsinki, Finland for the 2022 IIHF Men's World Championship which is taking place with Swayman a member of Team USA and Pastrnak Team Czechia.

Found A Friend in Finland

Pastrnak has participated in three World Championships (2016-2018) and enters his fourth this year after closing out the Bruins season as the leading scorer with 40 goals. Pastrnak helped give Czechia the 5-1 win over Latvia on Thursday with a goal and an assist. Pastrnak was playing with a familiar face, as old teammate David Krejci joined Pastrnak on the top line for team Czechia. As the first period came down to the final minute, Krejci found Pastrnak backdoor, giving Bruins fans some deja-vu watching the seamless play.
"It was very fun, we love playing together," Pastrnak told told the International Ice Hockey Federation (@IIHFHockey). "It was easy, not much practice needed from us, he's a great player so it is easy to play with him."
The Czechs will face Norway on Saturday afternoon at 3:20 p.m.

Summer Starts Hot for Sway

After Swayman's first Stanley Cup Playoffs experience came to an end with the B's first-round loss to Carolina, the 23-year-old wasted no time getting back in net, stopping all 17 shots he faced in Team USA's 3-0 win vs. Great Britain on Thursday afternoon.
"It was fun to watch these guys work hard in front of me and make my life easy, a great team win," Swayman told @USAHockey. "It's an opportunity I didn't want to surpass. It's something that I'm going to remember for a long time and take advantage of it while I'm here."
Swayman took the place of Alex Nedeljkovic (Detroit Red Wings), who has a lower body injury keeping him from playing in this year's IIHF World Championship. The Alaska native is not brand new to representing the United States, having won a bronze medal back at the 2018 World Junior Championship in Buffalo.
"You try to get used to it during the season, late nights, early mornings, but coming overseas is a little different," said Swayman. "I tried to get some sleep and make it as seamless as possible so it worked out pretty well."
The U.S. will face Sweden on Saturday afternoon at 5:30 p.m.

Ullmark Heads Over

Swayman's partner between the pipes, Linus Ullmark, is the third Bruin to head over to the Worlds, as he joins Team Sweden for the remainder of the tournament. Ullmark and the Swedes will take on Swayman and the Americans on Saturday.