Their time together was short, but Jake DeBrusk looking to carry lessons learned from Rick Nash

Aside from his established role as a spark plug on the Bruins’ second line, Jake DeBrusk has also taken up another role in Boston’s locker room — with the 22-year-old winger tasked with bestowing new nicknames to his teammates.

He might usually go by “Bergy”, but DeBrusk granted the moniker of “Selke” to Patrice Bergeron for his established, 200-foot-game. Hell, he even put his own name in the hat for David Krejci’s newborn son earlier this month.

While he only suited up in 23 games with the Bruins, veteran forward Rick Nash was not immune to DeBrusk’s willingness to dole out sobriquets — earning the nickname “Nasty” from his younger teammate.

DeBrusk had good reason for the title. Just 11 years old at the time, DeBrusk was in attendance for Nash’s signature play in his lauded career — with the power forward toe-dragging and dangling his way past a pair of Arizona Coyotes skaters en route to one of the best goals you’ll see across any hockey league.

Looking back on Nash’s career in wake of the veteran’s decision to finally hang up his skates, DeBrusk found himself in the right place at the right time out in Glendale to witness Nash’s wizardry with the puck.

“It was a nasty goal from Nasty,” DeBrusk said. “Especially at that game — he toe-dragged two guys while he was on a 4-on-4 with like two minutes left and scored. I think that’s when I became a Rick Nash fan for sure.”



Like many young players growing up in the early 2000s, DeBrusk became familiar with the hours of highlight-reel footage that Nash generated during his tenure with both the Blue Jackets and Rangers.

So when the Bruins made a move to acquire Nash from New York at the 2018 trade deadline, DeBrusk admittedly felt a bit star struck. Still just a 21-year-old rookie, DeBrusk suddenly found himself on a line with a pair of veterans with over 1,300 combined points on their resumes.



“It was one of those things where you’re trying to make an NHL team and the next thing you know, you’re going into the playoffs and you’re on a line with Rick Nash and David Krejci,” DeBrusk said. “It’s pretty special.

“As a rookie, it’s one of those things where you get really nervous and intimidated by it, but thankfully I had already had a half year (of experience) and was getting confidence at that time. I think after the trade deadline at that time, I was starting to really find my groove and then Rick came onboard and he really helped me out.”

Nash’s short tenure with the Bruins marked the final stint with an NHL club in his impressive career, with the 34-year-old formally announcing his retirement via a statement from his agent, Joe Resnick of Top Shelf Sports Management.

The statement read: “Due to unresolved issues/symptoms resulting from the concussion sustained last March, Rick Nash will be forced to retire from the game of hockey. Under the advice of his medical team, the risk of further brain injury is far too great if Rick returns to play. Rick would like to thank everyone who has supported him during this difficult time period."

Acquired by Boston in an effort to add a top-six weapon ahead of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Nash fit in well alongside Krejci and DeBrusk — with the trio generating a plus-2 goal differential, plus-15 shot differential and a 56.49 Corsi For Percentage — the third-highest mark of any Bruins line that logged over 50 minutes of 5v5 ice time together.

However, a high hit from Tampa Bay’s Cedric Paquette on March 17 sidelined the veteran for the remainder of the regular season. By the time he returned for the postseason, Nash was only limited to five points in 12 games — highlighted by a pair of goals in Boston’s lone win of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Lightning.

An unrestricted free agent going into the summer, Nash reportedly had interest from multiple NHL clubs, including the Bruins, Blue Jackets, Maple Leafs, Penguins and Sharks, per TSN’s Darren Dreger. However, given his history with concussions and the lingering effects of Paquette’s hit, Nash opted to put his own health and family ahead of one final big contract.

“I just heard about that too, that he retired,” DeBrusk said. “It’s a sad day for me, because I always wish I could play with him again, but it was nice to have that half year with a guy of that kind of stature.”

For DeBrusk, getting a chance to learn from Nash — whether it be little tweaks to his play in the offensive zone or just soaking up the veteran’s ability to read plays from the bench — played a key role in helping him refine his game.

“I think the biggest thing I took from Rick was just the little things that we talked about, day to day,” DeBrusk said. “Just thinking about how good of a guy he was. Wasn’t necessarily the most vocal guy in that sense of terms, but when he was vocal, he was pretty funny. Pretty opportunistic, he was very good at reading plays, talking about it on the bench and telling me stuff that he went through when he was going through his career.

“Just tried to learn as much as possible. It was an honor to play with Rick. Very happy to help him get his 800th point. Obviously, the end goal is to win the Stanley Cup and we weren’t able to do that, but it was one of those things where the couple of months that we were together, it was pretty special.”

He may not have Nash’s size, but for a young player that always admired No. 61’s game growing up, DeBrusk is looking to follow in the veteran winger’s footsteps when it comes to his play in the offensive zone.

“How I want to play is similar in a way,” DeBrusk Obviously he’s got a bigger frame and a bigger reach with the power forward role he played. But he drives to the net and he’s got hands. To see a goal like that live and then getting a chance to play with him? I told him about that goal and he gave it to me a little bit for making him feel his age a little bit.”