Boston Bruins: Jake DeBrusk’s Journey to the NHL Continues
The Boston Bruins surprised many of their fans and some of the analysts when they used their three first-round draft picks at last year’s entry draft. The Black and Gold were looking for players that wouldn’t necessary be able to make an immediate impact in Boston. Instead, Bruins GM Don Sweeney was playing the long game, looking for players that could be ready in two or three seasons.
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Their first pick was Jake DeBrusk. DeBrusk wanted to show the Bruins he could develop quickly as a player, and he did so in two seasons with the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Just after Christmas last year, DeBrusk was traded to the Red Deer Rebels. While DeBrusk’s production went down, he found himself playing in a far broader role than he did in Swift Current.
“I think the trade really helped me, I think it put me in a position to succeed,” said DeBrusk of his move to Red Deer. “This year I learned how to play all three positions. I played more of a PK role as well. I played power play, PK, all three positions; I feel like I’m on all sides of the puck, going up against top lines regularly in both Swift Current and here.”
Deep down the Boston Bruins second pick of last year’s draft (14th overall) just wants to get better. He wants to develop into a player that can be the kind of three-zone, two-way player the Bruins will need moving forward.
“I want to be a hard player to play against. I was always told, ‘When you’re not putting the puck in the net, you can’t get scored on.’ If I can shutdown the other team’s best player, and maybe the puck doesn’t go in for me, it’s still a job well done. It’s just more about being better than the guy across from you every night.”
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DeBrusk still has needs a bit more polishing before he’s ready for the NHL. He’s still pretty close to getting there though. It looks like he’ll be primed to compete for a position on the roster in the 2017-18 season. Then again, the Bruins have certainly had their hands full with injuries the last few seasons. One or two of the wrong players go down, DeBrusk may have a shot of suiting up n the spoked ‘B’ early.
The 19-year old forward took another strong forward step last September as he attended his first Boston Bruins development camp. He gained practical experience from the Bruins staff and got to see how the Black and Gold prepare to play NHL hockey. It’s expected that last year’s first round draft pick will be invited back next September.
“This summer’s going to be huge for me,” said DeBrusk. “Last summer was kind of in and out, there were lots of things that were going on. It was really crazy. This summer I’m really looking forward to training again and getting back into it.”
“The biggest thing that helped me was just the program, seeing guys like [Patrice] Bergeron and how they are on the ice – [Brad] Marchand, especially. I could go down the list.”
“I just want to be like them. It was a really cool experience. It was kind of mind-boggling at first – a dream come true.”
DeBrusk is having another dream come true as he gets to play for the Memorial Cup this weekend.