A Childhood Sleepover at the Zacha House Was a Nightmare for Jakub Zboril

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Dorin Canaday
April 16, 2023 (4:55)

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Czechia natives Pavel Zacha and Jakub Zboril share a past that extends long before their time together with the Boston Bruins, but one childhood sleepover didn't go as planned.

Not What He Was Expecting

In a recent article titled 'The Bruins' Pavel Zacha, an NHL dream and a parenting experiment to optimize hockey potential' in the The Athletic, Fluto Shinzawa took a deep dive into Zacha's father - also Pavel - and his gruelling training regimen.

It was something that shocked a 12-year-old Zboril when he and his older brother, Adam, were invited for a weekend sleepover at the Zacha household. Shinzawa shared the wild story:

''Breakfast started with vitamins. After they ate, the boys had to go running at a nearby soccer field. Then the three hockey players were tasked with stickhandling in Zacha's garage.''

''After lunch, they thought they'd have an hour of Xbox. Thirty minutes later, they were firmly told to drop their controllers and resume training.''

'' 'After one day, we called our dad crying,' Zboril recalls with a smile. 'Hey, come pick us up! We want to go home!' ''

Growing up in Czechia, Zboril and Zacha first played against each other as early as the age of four, and by six, they were best friends and playing on the same team.

The two went their separate ways when Zacha received an offer that was too good to turn down and moved away. They met again at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, when Zacha was selected 6th overall by the New Jersey Devils, and the Bruins took Zboril just seven picks later at 13th.

Zacha shared this quote on his friendship with longtime friend Zboril. As per Shinzawa:

''It's just funny,'' Zacha says. ''With some people in your life, you go through so much. Even when we didn't see each other, when we just texted and saw each other on the national team, there was always something to talk about and stay connected with. There's just always something to talk about. I would only see him once a season in the NHL or twice. But when we talk, it's like we were hanging out two days ago.''