Jake DeBrusk, like the rest of us, hasn’t been able to do all that much over the last couple of weeks.
Sure, the 23-year-old forward has focused on keeping his conditioning up in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. But beyond that, life as he once knew it has been turned on its head.
Instead of competing alongside his teammates in another march toward Lord Stanley's Cup, DeBrusk has spent the past two weeks playing video games with David Pastrnak — streaming their triumphs (and humbling defeats) online. Much like the 2011 Bruins earlier this week, the 2019-20 crew has also remained active via video chats and a stream of group texts.
“Our group chat yesterday was kind of buzzing, so I got to jump in a FaceTime call,” DeBrusk said from Edmonton when speaking with the media Wednesday afternoon. “I think I got kicked from FaceTime in like five minutes, but it's nice to see some faces.”
A self-described “low-key guy,” DeBrusk hasn’t let the monotony of this current slog bring him down as the world continues to ride out this current storm.
If anything, this extended time away from the ice has only furthered DeBrusk’s drive to see through this season on a team that appeared destined for a deep playoff run this spring.
“You obviously hope the season comes back and you want to play and you're obviously thinking about a lot,” DeBrusk said. “You're checking to see if there's any updates from anybody and try to see if there's different things maybe on social media from different angles. It's definitely an unknown. Our team is in a good spot, so obviously I want to come back and try to finish the job with the boys.”
Granted, spring is out of the question at this point, but the hopes of playoff hockey resuming continue to flicker — especially as the NHL mulls over contingency plans involving regional matchups at league venues in the late summer.
If the Bruins are granted the opportunity to compete for hockey’s top prize in the coming months, it’s going to take a complete effort — especially from a younger crop of skaters with a lot less rust to shake off during this time off.
DeBrusk, a top-six regular for years now, stands at the forefront of this greener group of key cogs — and will be tasked with giving the Bruins’ top-heavy 5v5 scoring output a much needed shot in the arm.
Of course, you don’t have to tell DeBrusk that. Amid all of the off-ice workouts and Fortnite sessions, DeBrusk has carved out plenty of time to assess his own game with a critical lens.
And in his eyes, there’s plenty that can be improved upon.
Consistency is a regular roadblock in the development of most NHLers, especially skaters whose games are predicated on regularly lighting the lamp.
DeBrusk is no different in that regard, although the cold spells haven’t exactly subsided in what is now the tail end of his third campaign up in the NHL ranks.
Last season, DeBrusk opened his sophomore campaign in a drought — only tallying three points in his first 13 games. He then followed that up by tallying seven goals in his next 10 outings. From Jan. 10 to Feb. 10, 2019, DeBrusk was limited to just two helpers — totaling out to a goalless streak of 13 games.
Of course, he then followed it up with a torrid stretch — scoring 13 times and tallying 22 points over the next 19 games to close out the year with an impressive 27 goals.
Barring another surge, DeBrusk’s production in 2019-20 is expected to take a slight hit. On pace for 23 goals and 41 total points in his third season, the energetic winger was once again hampered by a slow start out of the gate — posting just one assist (and getting two points negated via video review in Denver) over his first seven games.
Prior to the season coming to a halt, DeBrusk had only managed to record one point (a goal vs. Tampa Bay on March 3) over his final 14 games — with his recent slide even prompting Bruce Cassidy to slot DeBrusk out of the top-six unit and down with Charlie Coyle during Boston’s latest matchup on March 10 against Philly.
While DeBrusk has no issues playing alongside another puck-dominant center like Coyle (a testament to Boston’s envious pipeline of impact pivots on the roster), this current break has given the streaky scorer the window he needed to rest, reset and refocus.
“It's something that I strive for, something that every player in this league strives for — consistency. And I have watched my game," DeBrusk said. "I've kind of taken a step back and looked at my whole year and being back home — my dad has been kind of all over me about it. So I've been kind of thinking a little more than usual, I guess. To be honest, I don't really know if I had a consistent stretch this year. … it's frustrating to say.
“It just seemed like production-wise and my overall game, it wasn't necessarily where I wanted it to be in a sense, and I understand that there's certain elements that come into it — whether it's being too hard on myself and kind of eating myself alive at certain times or just different elements that kind of pop up during the year that you look back on and maybe it affected your game.”
Even if DeBrusk's baseline numbers have fallen a bit short of the 27 goals he secured last year, he hasn't strayed from the bread and butter of his game — bringing the puck down to Grade-A areas of the ice and generating high-quality chances. Among Bruins forwards that have logged at least 300 minutes of 5v5 TOI, DeBrusk is first in rush attempts per 60 minutes (0.79) and tied with Coyle for second overall on the club with a high-danger scoring chances generated per 60 minutes rate of 3.66.
As such, there stands a good chance that DeBrusk's numbers could spike again if play resumes and he continues to fire in shots from danger areas of the ice. Of course, Grade-A chances can only go so far in terms of guaranteeing a consistent scoring clip down the stretch if/when this season returns. Some it has more to do with what's going on between the ears, rather than flashier attributes like speed and puck skills.
These days, amid all the waiting and worrying brought upon by this pandemic, positive developments have unfortunately been few and far between — but cherished when the opportunity presents itself.
DeBrusk finds himself in such a spot, motivated by the potential of playoff hockey in August and September — and lifted by one of the few silver linings he's been able to secure during this break: a clean slate.
"I think that it's almost a blessing in a way to have this time, because I have had to take a step back and understand what kind of player I want to be in this league and what kind of player I can be," DeBrusk said. "I know what it's like to feel consistency. There's times where I get going and it seems like the puck just keeps going in, and that's obviously what every player wants, but just remembering how that feels. I think that I use my speed and my attributes to the best of my ability and that's usually what kind of happens. It's more so the fact of keeping a focus on it and not necessarily letting it slip.
"It's mind games that you play with yourself in a way. I think that this year was a definite learning curve for myself. It seems like things really weren't going my way in a sense, but in saying that, I still almost had 20 goals ... but I definitely wanted to be better this year. Our team was rolling, so it'd be nice if I could have helped even more, but it seemed like our team was still doing a great job and putting us in a great spot to succeed and getting us into a good spot heading into the playoffs. Obviously there's still a lot of hockey to be played. But you know, I think that we're trending in the right direction."
Stats and graphs via Natural Stat Trick & Sean Tierney.