Next up on my list is forward Jake DeBrusk! DeBrusk played in 68 games for the Bruins last season, in which he produced 27 goals and 15 assists. He then appeared in 24 playoff games for the team, in which he tallied four goals and seven assists. Drafted 14th overall of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the Bruins, DeBrusk has played in 138 career NHL games, over which he has recorded 43 goals and 42 assists. The 22-year-old wing has only played for the Bruins organization over his two season NHL career.
So far, DeBrusk is the only player in the Bruin’s infamous first round of the 2015 draft that has worked out well. The other two have played in a combined four NHL games, which is less than ideal, although it doesn’t mean we should write them off just yet. But, as far as DeBrusk goes, even keeping in mind the players still on the board at the time, I wouldn’t change drafting him where they did. He’s a hard-working and skilled player whose dedication to and passion for the game is obvious both on and off the ice. He’s fast and not afraid to battle along the boards or in front of the net, and he has a high hockey IQ to go along with his natural goal scoring instincts. DeBrusk is also a good two-way winger, and can be physical, although he is not known for it. He does, however, crash the net so hard he goes crashing into the boards at high speed and scares fans on a semi-regular basis. He’s also willing to play through injuries as he has shown on the last two playoff runs, although it wasn’t smart for him to play through a concussion this year. But, those things only emphasize the fact that he is more than willing to do whatever it takes to score and/or win games, which is a highly sought after quality by coaches and really appreciated by teammates. He’s a self-proclaimed streaky player, but he should become more consistent as he matures and gains experience.
As for what we can expect from DeBrusk this year, I think we’ll continue to see the same heart-and-soul player who also puts up points. I would say he’ll put up more points than he did last year, and assuming he’s a little more consistent and doesn’t have another down year assist-wise, it’s not unreasonable to say we’ll see (at least) 30 goals and 60 points out of him. He nearly had that many goals this year and still put up 42 points while not contributing as many assists as he probably could have. At that pace, he would’ve had roughly 33 goals and 51 points had he played in all 82 games. So, it’s really not a stretch when you think about it, especially when you consider the fact that he’ll only continue to improve given he only has two seasons of NHL experience under his belt and he’s still young. But, aside from the points, he’ll still be the same hard-working player on the ice and well-liked off the ice. He’ll almost certainly be with David Krejci again as the two complement each other very well and have built great chemistry over their two seasons together. But, as with all the others, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens come October.
Hockey Addict 