Bruins Notebook: Jake DeBrusk embracing challenge of adding more bite to his game; no update on Chara's future

For as fruitful as his stat line has often been up in the NHL ranks, Jake DeBrusk rarely assesses his game without a critical lens.

Even with the cold spells on the stat sheet that have often plagued him over his first three seasons in the NHL, DeBrusk has routinely lit the lamp so far in his young career — averaging 20 tallies per season and 62 total goals over 203 career games. Boston's selections during that fateful 2015 NHL Draft continues to draw the ire of fans to this day, but DeBrusk actually ranks 11th in that stacked draft class in total goals since the start of the 2015-16 campaign.

(The names in front of him include higher selections in the draft such as Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Mikko Rantanen, Mitch Marner and Timo Meier.)

Had it not been for injuries in 2018-19 (68 total games), DeBrusk (27 goals) had a great chance of becoming just 12th Bruin under the age of 23 to tally 30+ goals in season. Posting his second straight 20-goal campaign was also well within reach in 2019-20 before COVID-19 halted play back in March (he finished with 19 goals in 65 games).

With another year of experience under his belt and a stronger supporting cast up front, there's no reason to doubt that the newly-signed DeBrusk is poised to rack up even more goals — and memorable cellys — over the next two seasons. With his speed, strong shot and propensity to bring the puck down to the opposing goalie's doorstep, 30 goals is an attainable benchmark for the 24-year-old forward.

But DeBrusk wants to be more than just a one-trick pony in Boston's top-six unit. Speaking via Zoom on Tuesday afternoon, a candid DeBrusk expressed that he has more to give to this Bruins team moving forward, and plans on expanding his game beyond what has traditionally been the scouting report on the streaky sniper.



"I’ve been focusing on probably just my physical side of the game," DeBrusk said. "I think I’ve put on some weight already and have really been attacking just getting stronger overall. More balance on the ice and also just little details within my game that then help the ups and downs. I think that’s kind of the thing that everyone likes to talk about, so it’s been obviously a big focus of mine. Obviously, still trying to work on speed and still trying to be fast – faster, I guess. But definitely the physical side of things, just trying to – the wear and tear of the season and the playoffs as well."

Filling out his frame is a prudent move for DeBrusk, who has often been hindered by his fair share of bumps and bruises by the time Boston has trudged its way through some grueling playoff slates. Now, DeBrusk's willingness to play with a bit more of a snarl doesn't mean he's going to join the likes of Nick Ritchie, Trent Frederic and others on the continuous carousel of "GRITTY PLAYERS" that we'll all be almost certainly subjected to in 2021.

Rather, putting on some weight and tailoring his game toward being more effective in the finer details of the game — whether it be winning another puck battle or fighting for another shot on net in a netfront scrum —  can be all the difference between a quality scoring chance and an actual tally on the scoreboard.

"Throughout this whole process I’ve looked at pretty much every single stat you can find," DeBrusk said. "I looked at some things and to be able to see that is obviously easy to change. There’s no reason why I can’t have a hit per game. And that goes hand in hand with what I was just talking about earlier with the forechecking. I think that that’s been a main focus of mine. I’m not saying I’m going to be running around out there, but obviously, I could finish checks more. That’s usually how I play.

"That’s how I’ve been known to play. It just didn’t really happen much this year and it’s one thing I felt like it affected my game a lot. It could open up space for me, my teammates and also just getting the puck. That’s the biggest thing. Obviously, you’re trying to get possession of it. (When) defenseman don’t think they’re going to get hit, they’ll take an extra second to make that play. It’s just a matter of getting on them as fast as I cans, use my footspeed, use my strengths to get there and then from the rest, it’s just hockey."

Had the 2020-21 season been granted a regular 82-game slate, DeBrusk would be a safe pick (health permitting) to surpass 20 goals for the second time in his career. But the winger, who is currently skating three or four times a week up in Edmonton, isn't planning on getting caught up in the box score nearly as much when it comes to evaluating just what he's bringing to this club on a daily basis.

"I think I’ve gone through a lot of tough stretches here. Not necessarily tough, but stretches that I didn’t really want to be a part of, that have kind of affected me differently," DeBrusk said. "Obviously, young players in this league always deal with it. It’s one of those things where I’m expected to score goals. When it doesn’t go in, it obviously affects you. I think I’ve grown overall. I’ve played I think around 200 games. I’ve played a lot of hockey here.

"It’s one of those things that, you can think about it, you can not think about it. I think the best way to go about it is just go out there and play hockey. Just go out there and play and the stress factor of that just hurts you. It’s one of those things where sometimes you just need a bounce, it’s just hockey.

"Obviously, I’d love to score every single game. I think every player in the league would say that. It’s one of those things where, obviously, it comes with consistency and things like that. It’s just a matter of action, the all-around game. What can I bring to the game when I’m not scoring. It’s one of those things where that’s where I’ve really tried to focus on and one thing that I’ll definitely be changing for the rest of my career."

No updates on Chara: 

With DeBrusk locked in for the next two seasons, the last piece on Boston's offseason checklist is determining whether or not Zdeno Chara returns for a 15th season with the Bruins in 2020-21. Even though Chara, 43, expressed his desire to return to Boston shortly after the B's season ended up in the Toronto bubble, it's primarily been radio silence between team and player as of late.

However, Don Sweeney did note that Chara's uncertain future might be more of a product of waiting for the league to offer some concrete details about the upcoming season, rather than it being a contractual stalemate between both parties. Chara, who can still provide value to this club in more of a lesser role, obviously won't break the bank with any new contract, but the future Hall of Famer is well within his rights to see just what the landscape will be across the NHL in 2020-21 before opting to return for yet another campaign.

"Nope. Same status quo there," Sweeney said of any changes with Chara's status. "Waiting to reconnect with (agent) Matt (Keator)and Zdeno. Zee continues to evaluate what the landscape of the league looks like and we’ll see where it goes. We’ve had constant communication and hopefully we’ve got a target date here at some point in the near future and we’ll see what the league determines."

He may not be signed with the Bruins currently, but Chara has continued to remain involved in the local community — as the defenseman took part in the B's annual Thanksgiving food delivery on Tuesday for the third straight year. Chara helped deliver over 200 pies to the New England Center and Home for Veterans, St. Francis House, Pine Street Inn and Rosie’s Place. 

https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/1331321528689041408

This marks the 12th straight season in which a Bruins player has donated and delivered pies on or around Thanksgiving. Dennis Wideman was the first to deliver pies in 2009, carrying on an annual tradition started when Aaron Ward used to deliver turkeys to shelters. Gregory Campbell (2010-14) and Matt Beleskey (2015-17) continued the trend over the past decade before Chara took over in 2018.