Pavel Zacha

Pavel Zacha (born 6 April 1997) is a Czech professional ice hockey player who is a forward for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Zacha was selected sixth overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 2015 NHL entry draft.

Playing career

Amateur Zacha played in the 2009 and 2010 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with his minor ice hockey team from Chomutov.

Zacha made his Czech Extraliga debut playing with HC Bílí Tygři Liberec during the 2013–14 Czech Extraliga season.

In the 2014 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft, Zacha was selected first overall by the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He joined the Sting for the 2014–15 season, recording 34 points in 37 games. Zacha followed up in his final season with the Sting by recording 64 points in 51 games. OHL coaches awarded Zacha as the best penalty-killer in the Western Conference after his 2015–16 season.

Professional

New Jersey Devils Zacha was ranked eighth for North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau for the 2015 NHL entry draft. He was selected sixth overall by the New Jersey Devils. On 11 August 2015, the Devils signed Zacha to a three-year, entry-level contract. He returned to the Sting for the 2015–16 season. Soon after the Sting season ended, Zacha joined the Devils. He made his NHL debut on 9 April 2016, recording two assists in a 5–1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Zacha made the Devils' lineup for the 2016–17 season. He scored his first NHL goal on 3 November 2016 in a 4–3 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers. He finished the season with eight goals and 24 points in 70 games.

After going pointless in ten games to start the 2018–19 season, Zacha was assigned to the Binghamton Devils of the American Hockey League (AHL) on 2 November 2018.

On 10 September 2019, Zacha signed a three-year extension with the Devils.

During the 2019–20 season Zacha recorded 32 points, a personal NHL career high. In avoiding arbitration with the Bruins, Zacha was later signed to a one-year, $3.5 million contract for the 2022–23 season on 8 August 2022.

Zacha found success in his first season in Boston, mainly playing as a wing on the first line alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. Zacha had a career year, crushing his previous career highs in goals, assists, and points. On 14 January 2023, Zacha was signed to a four-year, $19 million contract extension by the Bruins. Zacha would play in all 82 games for the Bruins, scoring 21 goals and 36 assists for 57 points. He would also register six assists in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, playing in all seven games of the Bruins first round loss against the Florida Panthers.

Following the news of David Krejčí and Bergeron's respective retirements in the summer of 2023, Zacha was expected to take a step up and serve as one of the Bruins top centers, after serving mostly as a winger the previous year. Zacha played centre up and down the line-up in the 2023–2024 season. After a four game stretch where he scored five goals and two assists, Zacha was named the NHL Second Star of the Week in mid-March. Zacha tied his previous season total with 21 goals, but added 38 assists—two more than the previous season—to set a career high in assists and points for the second consecutive season.

Zacha entered the 2024–25 season moving back to the top-line wing with the Bruins addition of center Elias Lindholm, playing with Lindholm and David Pastrňák on the top line. Although Zacha scored a goal and an assist in the first two games of the season, he, along with the Bruins in general, struggled to produce offensively early on. Through the end of December, Zacha had scored nine goals and nine assists, and had been moved back to the center position in hopes of providing an offensive spark throughout the team. Although Zacha would improve throughout the season, the Bruins still struggled, and ended up missing the playoffs. Zacha finished the season with 14 goals and 33 assists, his lowest totals in Boston thus far.

International play

After the Bruins elimination in the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, Zacha went to represent the Czech Republic in the 2024 IIHF World Championship, his first time representing his country in ten years. Zacha would score the lone goal in a 1–0 quarterfinal victory over the United States, and would eventually help the Czechs to a gold medal.

On 16 June 2025, Zacha was announced as one of the first six players named to represent the Czech Republic at the 2026 Winter Olympics. On 7 February 2026, it was announced that Zacha would miss the 2026 Winter Olympics due to injury and would be replaced by Filip Chlapík.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2011–12 Bílí Tygři Liberec CZE U18 36 10 15 25 20 7 2 3 5 6 2011–12 Bílí Tygři Liberec CZE U20 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2012–13 Bílí Tygři Liberec CZE U18 6 6 7 13 4 1 1 0 1 10 2012–13 Bílí Tygři Liberec CZE U20 39 14 26 40 26 5 2 2 4 0 2012–13 HC Benátky nad Jizerou Czech.1 — — — — — 1 0 0 0 0 2013–14 Bílí Tygři Liberec CZE U20 10 6 11 17 64 3 1 1 2 4 2013–14 Bílí Tygři Liberec ELH 38 4 4 8 10 — — — — — 2013–14 HC Benátky nad Jizerou Czech.1 12 4 5 9 6 — — — — — 2014–15 Sarnia Sting OHL 37 16 18 34 56 5 2 1 3 10 2015–16 Sarnia Sting OHL 51 28 36 64 97 7 6 7 13 16 2015–16 New Jersey Devils NHL 1 0 2 2 0 — — — — — 2015–16 Albany Devils AHL 3 1 2 3 2 5 1 2 3 2 2016–17 New Jersey Devils NHL 70 8 16 24 19 — — — — — 2017–18 New Jersey Devils NHL 69 8 17 25 30 5 0 0 0 6 2018–19 New Jersey Devils NHL 61 13 12 25 15 — — — — — 2018–19 Binghamton Devils AHL 4 0 5 5 2 — — — — — 2019–20 New Jersey Devils NHL 65 8 24 32 14 — — — — — 2020–21 New Jersey Devils NHL 50 17 18 35 10 — — — — — 2021–22 New Jersey Devils NHL 70 15 21 36 22 — — — — — 2022–23 Boston Bruins NHL 82 21 36 57 16 7 0 6 6 2 2023–24 Boston Bruins NHL 78 21 38 59 18 13 1 5 6 4 2024–25 Boston Bruins NHL 82 14 33 47 21 — — — — — 2025–26 Boston Bruins NHL 78 30 35 65 28 6 1 2 3 2NHL totals 706 155 252 407 193 31 2 13 15 14

International

Awards and honors