The Boston Bruins clearly have high expectations for second-year forward Jake DeBrusk, and they have no problem letting him know when he doesn’t meet them.
The B’s winger was demoted in the team’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night, and head coach Bruce Cassidy admitted afterward the team expects more from DeBrusk.
“The standard we expect out of him I don’t think has been there enough lately, period. He’s been told that,” Cassidy said after the game. “We want him to play his way out of it. I thought in the third period there were some positives, so hopefully, that gets him going into the next game. We’ll see.”
DeBrusk’s numbers look fine. After scoring 16 goals in 70 games last season, he already has 14 goals (but just three assists) in 37 games this season. He’s getting more shots on net, and he’s playing almost two more minutes per game.
But DeBrusk showed last season and especially in the playoffs he’s capable of being a consistent contributor within the Bruins’ core. It also seems unlikely Cassidy would publicly criticize DeBrusk’s play if he didn’t think the player could handle it, but it’s noteworthy nonetheless.
