BOSTON — Boston Bruins star David Pastrnak surprised an emergency room nurse with the car he recently won as NHL All-Star Game MVP.
Kaitlin Hagstrom, 30, of Saugus, works at Tufts Medical Center, on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, caring for gravely ill patients. She is a Bruins fan and a single mother to four-year-old Shaun.
Hagstrom, who had been nominated for the surprise by her clinical instructor, thought she was walking into an annual performance review last week. Instead, she sat down to a laptop playing a video recorded by the 24-year-old top-scoring winger, who was born in the Czech Republic and raised by a single mom.
“Hi, Nurse Kaitlin. This is David Pastrnak from the Boston Bruins. I have heard about all the great work you have done over at Tufts Medical Center,” said the player fans lovingly call ‘Pasta.’ “I know you’re a single mother. I was raised by a single mother. I know how hard it is to be raising a family as a single mother, and how much work you have to put in and how hard it is for you. And I have so much respect for you.”
Pastrnak, who had been awarded a Honda CR-V hybrid as All-Star Game MVP, then surprised Hagstrom by gifting it to her.
“I would love to give you and your family a little surprise,” Pastrnak said. “All right, Kaitlin. Why don’t you head outside and take a look?”
Hagstrom, whose reaction was captured on video released by the Bruins Wednesday, was confused and stunned by the surprise.
“Wait, what? What’s going on? The car, for me? Are you kidding me?” Hagstrom said, before being led outside to the car and handed a set of keys. “Oh, my god! I’m in, like, shock right now.”
In the trunk were more gifts – an autographed jersey and a puck. Hagstrom’s son also received skates and all new hockey equipment.
The four-year-old, who learned to skate last year, is becoming a Bruins fan like his mom. Now, the pair have even more reason to cheer him on.
“Obviously, I thought he was a great player before,” Hagstrom said. “I just can’t believe how such a young person could do something like this. It’s just amazing. It’s great. I don’t even know what to say. I think very highly of him.”
Hagstrom, who is leasing a car while saving to a buy a home, said the gift is much needed. She will be able to choose the Honda she wants and customize the features.
“I would love to see [Pastrnak] and give him a big hug,” Hagstrom said. “I know that’s not possible in these times. But I just want to say to David Pastrnak: Thank you so, so much. This means the world to me. It’s really going to take the weight off my shoulders. And I just I’m so thankful.”
Hagstrom, who has been working tirelessly with her Tufts team during the second coronavirus surge, said she is grateful for the opportunity she has to help others and the gift she received in return.
“In the same week, I got my Covid vaccine, which is monumental - like, this is history - and I got a new car,” Hagstrom said. “So two very great things happening at the end of a very difficult year for everybody.”
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