By: Neil Simmons | Follow me on Twitter / X: @NSimmz
Hundreds of pro hockey players have donned the iconic Boston Bruins Spoked B weather throughout their first one hundred years in the National Hockey League. Many of them came to Boston as draft picks with high hopes of becoming the future of the franchise. For some, like Peter Cehlárik, that didn’t prove to be the case, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t gone on to have a solid pro career.
Cehlárik was selected by the Bruins 90th overall in the 2013 NHL Draft following his debut season with Lulea in the Swedish Hockey League. He spent three additional seasons in Sweden, scoring 43 points in 124 games before moving to North America in 2016 and joining the Providence Bruins for the upcoming year.
Cehlárik had a strong start in the American Hockey League, scoring 38 points in 49 games during his first season with Providence, his career high in any league to that point. His play earned him an audition with the big club, and he made his NHL debut in February 2017. Cehlárik would stick around for 11 games before returning to the AHL, briefly forming the “Czeching Line” with David Pastrnak and David Krejci (Despite Cehlárik being Slovakian). He recorded two points during his cameo with Boston: a pair of assists in the same game against Montreal.
Cehlárik’s tenure with the Bruins organization would follow a similar pattern. He played most of his games with Providence, with occasional cameos in Boston. He appeared in 29 games for Boston spread over the next three seasons, with his longest tenure being 20 games in the 2018-19 season, scoring five goals and nine points. Cehlárik dressed in 136 games with Providence in that time, recording 98 total points. His 20 goals and 38 points from his rookie season with the P-Bruins proved to be his high marks with the team. He produced at a similar pace in two seasons but never exceeded either total.
A pending free agent after the 2019-20 season, Cehlárik elected to leave the Bruins organization after being left off the Return to Play roster for the COVID bubble restart in Toronto. He returned to Sweden and signed with Leksands IF, setting a career-high 40 points. He played his way into the Slovakian National Team for the 2021 World Championships and earned the Best Forward award for scoring 11 points in eight games.
The following year, Cehlárik, amidst a campaign with Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League, was again selected to the National Team for the 2022 Winter Olympics. He proved to be a vital asset to the Slovak’s Cinderella run to the Bronze medal, scoring the game-winner in their only win in group play and the shootout winner in the quarterfinal against the United States.
Cehlárik returned to Leksands midway through the 2022-23 season and still plays for the team today. He led the club in scoring in the 2023-24 season with 19 goals and 39 points in 52 games.
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