Boston Bruins forwards David Pastrnak and Ondrej Kase aren't expected to practice with the club until the team arrives in Toronto, team president Cam Neely said Wednesday, according to NHL.com's Amalie Benjamin.
"It's hard to say right now," Neely said. "My best guess would be Toronto. Once we get to Toronto, I think we'll be fine."
Pastrnak and Kase haven't participated in the majority of Boston's training camp. Pastrnak's agent said July 17 that his client is quarantining after coming in contact with someone that tested positive for COVID-19, though Pastrnak himself tested negative.
Pastrnak finished the season tied for the NHL lead with 48 goals in 70 games, adding 47 assists for a career-high 95 points. Kase only played in six games with the Bruins after being acquired from the Anaheim Ducks prior to the trade deadline.
Both players spent the majority of the NHL's hiatus in their native Czech Republic. The Bruins have missed numerous key players during training camp because of Massachusetts regulations regarding the pandemic.
"Some other teams are dealing with this, obviously, but what the state regulations are compared to maybe some other states are a little different across the country," Neely said. "We're following all the state guidelines. ... We're following all the protocols, not just the league protocols, but the state protocols."
All teams are expected to travel to their respective hub cities by July 26. The Bruins, the No. 1 seed in the East, will participate in a round robin with the other top-four teams in the conference beginning Aug. 2 versus the Philadelphia Flyers.
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