Three Things Jim Montgomery Has Learned About Jake DeBrusk

BOSTON — Entering the final season of his two-year, $8 million contract, Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk has become an intricate piece in Boston both on and off the ice.

After rescinding his trade request out of Boston, DeBrusk had a career-high in points (50) last year with 27 goals and 23 assists for the Bruins and was on pace for even more production before missing 18 games due to injuries.

“Last year, coming back from two separate injuries was important for our hockey club and important for Jake,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said at the club’s annual Media Day on Monday at TD Garden. “Because sometimes you’d seen him dip when he came back in those situations. And he really didn’t, so I think the drive is there. I think the confidence in his game as a two-way player, be incorporated and probably play even more so in penalty kill is a real feather in Jake’s cap and the coach’s cap to see it.”

Head coach Jim Montgomery not only saw that, but the second-year bench boss learned a lot about the 26-year-old Bruins forward.

“What I’ve learned about him is there’s three things that make him so valuable to our team,” Montgomery said. “One is his swagger. He has this quiet confidence that comes off in… I only heard it a few times, but I think the players hear it a lot. He brings humor at the appropriate times that lets everybody know that everything’s going to be okay. He has a quiet confidence and swagger to him that really helps our group.”

Offensively, there had been questions about DeBrusk’s consistency, but those have presumably been resolved with back-to-back 25-goal seasons. Montgomery believes he knows when DeBrusk is going to have a game for the ages based on one particular factor of his gameplay.

“I think that his best games come from when he’s really tenacious on pucks, forechecking, stripping people from behind, or playing fast defensively…which creates offense,” Montgomery said. “I think he’s always dangerous offensively. But that makes him really dangerous, and more so… he gets more chances when he’s like that.

“And the third thing was that communication with him was important, letting him know his value to the team, and how important it is. And those details I just talked about… how much they helped the Bruins be successful.”

Sweeney declined to comment on the ongoing contract discussions with DeBrusk’s agent but added a tidbit about his game.

“He’s got great hockey sense. He has the tools to be an impactful player. It’s always been about consistency with Jake, we all see it,” Sweeney said. “You just expect to see it on an absolute nightly basis, and he’s getting closer to that.”

DeBrusk and his teammates will host rookie sensation Connor Bedard in their season opener Wednesday night when the Bruins host the Chicago Blackhawks at TD Garden.