BOSTON — Jake DeBrusk is entering the 2023-24 NHL season coming one of his best offensive years with the Bruins. The top-six forward potted 27 goals and tallied 23 assists — numbers that surely would have been inflated had he not missed a month after getting injured in the Winter Classic.
DeBrusk is also entering the final year of his two-year extension that he signed at the 2021-22 trade deadline. He requested a trade in November 2021 but rescinded it shortly after the Bruins fired Bruce Cassidy as their coach.
At media day last year, DeBrusk wouldn’t confirm or deny Cassidy’s departure led to him walking back his request, but that it was an easy decision after talking with someone of his teammates. What followed next was the Bruins getting the most out of DeBrusk. He came a reliable top-six forward, often skating on the top line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. He played hero in the Winter Classic at Fenway Park by scoring two goals despite breaking his leg and injuring his hand during the game.
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Now he’s hopeful to remain in Boston and avoid free agency altogether.
Maybe coach Jim Montgomery was the difference maker. Maybe it was playing to more of his style. Whatever it was, Montgomery has seen a lot of maturity both on and off the ice since the coach arrived in Boston.
“When I think of Jake, what I learned about him, is there’s three things that make him so valuable to our team,” Montgomery said on Monday. “One is his swagger. He has this quiet confidence that comes off and, I only heard it a few times, but I think the players hear it a lot. He brings humor at the appropriate times that let’s everybody know everything’s gonna be OK. He has a quiet confident swagger that really helps our group.
“I think too is that his best games come from when he’s really tenacious on pucks for checking, stripping people from behind or playing fast defensively which creates offense,” he added. “I think he’s always dangerous offensively, but that makes him really dangerous. More so he gets more chances when he’s like that. And the third thing was that communication with him is important, letting him know his value to the team and how important he is.”
For Sweeney, he sees the drive in DeBrusk and believes last year was a “feather in his cap.”
“Jake has matured both on and off the ice. And gone through some ups and downs associated with that. Last year, coming back from two separate injuries was important for our hockey club and important for Jake because sometimes you had seen him dip when he came back in those situations and he really didn’t” Sweeney said. “So I think the drive is there. I think the confidence in his game as a two-way player being incorporated — playing more on the penalty kill — it was a real feather in Jake’s cap and the coach’s cap to see it. He’s got a great hockey sense. He has the tools to be an impactful player and it’s always been about consistency with Jake. We all see it. You just expect to see it on an absolute nightly basis and he’s getting closer.
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Opening Night for the Bruins is slated for Wednesday when they host the Chicago Blackhawks. Without Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci in the lineup, it will be a good opportunity to DeBrusk to step up and continue his growth from last season.
