WILMINGTON, Mass. — Jake DeBrusk took the ice wearing a Boston Bruins sweater for the first time Tuesday as this year’s development camp started with double practices at Ristuccia Arena.
The 18-year-old right winger was selected 14th overall in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft after scoring 42 goals, sixth in the WHL, for the Swift Current Broncos last season. His experience, so far, has been positive, he said.
“It’s been amazing, just to be drafted in general, but to an Original Six team it’s pretty special,” DeBrusk said. “It’s been crazy, getting back home and (meeting) lots of fans and lots of people that are Boston fans. I’ve heard so many good things about Boston, I don’t think I’ve heard one bad thing yet, and I haven’t seen one bad thing yet, so it’s been pretty perfect. I’m just really excited to be here and it was a good start to the camp.”
DeBrusk isn’t expected to make the NHL for at least another season, but he’s certainly the type of player the Bruins need. He’s not the biggest guy on paper, but he’s strong and has an impressive offensive skill set. He’s also a hard-working kid who isn’t afraid to fight for pucks in the dirty areas and go hard to the net.
“Just my compete level and scoring instincts in and around the net, I think those are two of my biggest things,” DeBrusk said. “I guess another one would be my hockey IQ. But those are things that — I like to ‘think’ the game when I’m out there and I find that I have a good scoring touch around the net. I think that’s going to translate well and I think I’m still getting better and better and playing with better players helps out, too.”
The goal of development camp isn’t only to score goals and impress in drills, but to build relationships with the other players and learn about being a professional player.
“I want to impress, I want to prove why I’m here and where I went in the draft,” DeBrusk said. “Another thing I want to do is just get better, be a sponge and learn as much as I can. There’s a lot of good staff around that are giving us a lot of things to learn from and that’s one of the things I’m looking to do and meet the other guys and get some friendships that could help down the road.”
Thumbnail photo via Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports Images
