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From the Howes the Hulls to the Tkachuks and on down the line, hockey fans have seen literally hundreds of sons follow their fathers into the sport. But family ties bind in a unique way for Jake DeBrusk. The 27-year-old navigated seven NHL seasons with the Boston Bruins while his father, Louie, served up opinions as an Edmonton-based TV hockey analyst.
When Jake scored his first NHL goal in his first game on Oct. 5, 2017, his father, a once-feared NHL enforcer, became a social-media meme when he wiped away a proud tear with the back of his hand while watching from the stands at TD Garden.
Four months later, in Jake’s first-ever visit to Vancouver as an NHL rookie, Louie sat down with his son and Scott Oake on Hockey Night in Canada’s After Hours. Dad may have committed a classic parental overshare when Louie confessed that he and his wife, Cindy, had fudged the numbers for their late-blooming 14-year-old when he entered the WHL bantam draft in 2011.
“We listed him at 5-foot-2, 125 (pounds),” Louie said. “I think he was more like 4-foot-11, 110 (pounds). We just figured he’d be that size by the draft, which I think he was fairly close. Anything you can do to kind of push him in the right direction, right?”
In our newest issue, we say goodbye and celebrate the lives of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau.
We also look at the biggest names to change teams this summer, including Stamkos, Guentzel, DeBrusk and more. Plus a 1974 Summit Series 50th anniversary rewind: https://t.co/smKk3NQdgQ pic.twitter.com/afvAZnwFnp
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When Jake reached free agency on July 1, he chose western Canada as his home for the next seven years when he signed a $38.5-million contract with the Vancouver Canucks. “Being closer to home, to get to see (family) more, is something I took into consideration,” Jake said. “We’re pretty excited.”
After last spring’s seven-game series between the Canucks and Edmonton Oilers, the hockey rivalry between DeBrusk’s new stomping grounds and his hometown is perhaps the hottest it’s ever been. And while the 2011 Stanley Cup final between the Canucks and Bruins happened when he was just a young teenager thinking about that bantam draft, he’s aware former teammate Brad Marchand remains a supervillain every time he comes out west.
“In terms of the rivalry, there’s a little bit of that with the fans,” he said. “Especially with ‘Marsh.’ It was always interesting seeing how people reacted around him, which I totally understand.”
A little lingering bad blood wasn’t enough to stop DeBrusk from embracing the opportunity to ply his trade in the bright spotlight of a Canadian market, on an up-and-coming team where his skill set should be a good fit. “They’re hard to play against,” DeBrusk said of his new club. “The biggest thing for me is, obviously, looking at the centermen. I think that’s a great opportunity for me to come in and excel. They’ve got lots of punch there.”
J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson are the Canucks’ elite middlemen. On July 1, Vancouver GM Patrik Allvin complimented his new winger’s speed, two-way dependability and positional versatility and said he expects DeBrusk to line up with Pettersson in October.
Vancouver took a big step forward last season, capturing the Pacific Division title and reaching the playoffs for the first time in four years. The Canucks’ management and coaching ranks are filled with Cup champs, including coach Rick Tocchet and assistants Adam Foote and Sergei Gonchar, who all won as players.
But last spring’s roster was a little short on post-season experience, and the acquisition of DeBrusk helps in that regard. The Bruins made the playoffs in all seven of his NHL seasons. He reached Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final in 2019 and has 47 points in 86 career post-season games. He’s been good, too. “What I’ve seen over the years, I think Jake has consistently been able to elevate his game in the playoffs,” Allvin said.
Now a solid 6-foot-1 and nearly 200 pounds, DeBrusk learned to rely on speed, skill and determination in his youth. Though his dad punched in at 6-foot-2 and 227 pounds during his playing days, Jake was the smallest player on his teams growing up, and he was devastated when he didn’t make the cut to play in Edmonton’s famed Brick Tournament at age 10.
His dad’s white lie about his size may have helped him claim a seventh-round bantam-draft selection by the Swift Current Broncos, but he didn’t play his first WHL game until he was nearly 17.
Born 32 days after the NHL’s Sept. 15 draft-year cutoff, DeBrusk benefitted enormously from the extra year of development that his “late” birthday afforded. In his 2014-15 draft year, he exploded for 42 goals and 81 points, earned a spot at the CHL’s Top Prospects Game and worked his way into the conversation as a potential first-rounder. (The Hockey News had him ranked 28th.)
“I think that’s a great opportunity for me to come in and excel. They’ve got lots of punch there” – Jake DeBrusk
On draft day in Sunrise, Fla., he was listed at 5-foot-11 and 174 pounds. Boston GM Don Sweeney took him with the 14th pick.
DeBrusk spent one more year in junior, then transitioned seamlessly to the pro game. When he joined the AHL’s Providence Bruins at 20, he tied for second in team scoring with 49 points in 74 games. Then, in the playoffs, he chipped in six goals as the Bruins upset the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the Hershey Bears on their way to the AHL’s Eastern Conference final.
The playoff hero for Providence that year? Danton Heinen, with 18 points. Now 29, Heinen made the jump to Boston with DeBrusk in 2017-18, then found his way back to the Bruins last season. On July 1, Heinen joined DeBrusk and another former B’s teammate, Derek Forbort, in signing with Vancouver.
“I already texted J.D. and said, ‘Where are you buying us a house?’ ” laughed Forbort.
During his time in Boston, DeBrusk developed under the mentorship of elite leaders such as Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron. He was a fixture on the power play from Day 1, then began to see penalty-killing minutes the past couple of years.
In 2022-23, the Canucks ranked dead last while shorthanded. Last season, they climbed into the middle of the pack, but they’re looking for more improvement. DeBrusk, Forbort and Heinen will all be able to help.
“I got asked if I’d do it because I have speed and a good stick,” DeBrusk said. “I think I’m effective (on the penalty kill). I’m still learning the defensive side of the game. Being around a guy like Patrice Bergeron, I have a lot of respect for him. I really leaned on him when I first started penalty killing.”
While collecting 1,161 PIM in 401 NHL games over 11 seasons, Louie DeBrusk dropped the gloves against tough-guy legends of the 1990s including Marty McSorley, Gino Odjick, Stu Grimson – and Tocchet. In 1998, the pair became allies as teammates with the Phoenix Coyotes. That was more than a quarter-century ago.
Jake was just two at the time, so his impressions of his new coach have been formed largely by what Louie has shared over the years. “I heard lots of good things,” he said. “I trust my dad. They played together, so obviously, he wasn’t coaching, but I think his track record speaks for itself. Anytime you can come into a place like that with a coach like that, you know you can get better.”
And when Sportsnet’s broadcast schedule aligns, Louie will have a front-row view from between the benches.
This article appeared in the Sept. 9, 2024 edition of The Hockey News. In this edition, we say goodbye and celebrate the lives of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau. Also in the issue, we look at the biggest names to change teams this summer, including Steven Stamkos, Jake Guentzel, Jake DeBrusk and more. In addition, we look back at the “forgotten” 1974 Summit Series on its 50th anniversary.
It’s available on newsstands now, or you can get it in print for free when you subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/Free today. All subscriptions include complete access to more than 76 years of articles at The Hockey News Archive.
