Jake DeBrusk Admitted This Bruins Teammate Intimidated Him
Jake DeBrusk, who has skated alongside numerous NHL legends during his tenure with the Boston Bruins, admitted there was one teammate who truly intimidated him.
The 27-year-old forward, who played with Stanley Cup winners like Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Krejci, Adam McQuaid, and Zdeno Chara, as well as seasoned veterans David Backes, Nick Foligno, and Rick Nash, found Chara to be the most intimidating player.
“Super calm demeanor. Like such a nice guy and I love Z, but at the beginning, you’re intimidated. You are straight-up intimidated seeing Z for the first time,” DeBrusk recalled during his appearance on “The Cam & Strick Podcast” on Tuesday. “I remember the first time I saw him on the ice; it was even more intimidating. We had a one-on-one drill, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I don’t even know how to attack this guy right now.’ It’s like I had never seen anything like him at the time, but you get used to it as time goes on.”
DeBrusk recounted his first training camp with the Bruins, where the team performed a drill involving defensemen handling the puck and forwards charging the net for a tip. During his initial rush against Chara, DeBrusk instinctively leaned away from the net, unsure of what to expect from the former captain’s shot.
After the drill, Chara had DeBrusk stay on the ice and stand in front of the net for extra practice.
“He brought out like 15 pucks and started bombing shots, telling me to stay there,” DeBrusk remembered. “I got a couple of pieces of a couple and stuff, but I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ And he started laughing at me at the end. That just goes to show what kind of guy he is, even in training camp practice.”
DeBrusk admitted he was scared standing in front of the net because he couldn’t read Chara’s shots but praised the legendary defenseman for teaching him a powerful lesson.
“You gotta go head first into everything, honestly, and that’s how you get through it.”
DeBrusk said he learned a lot from the players in Boston and hopes to bring his experience to Vancouver after signing a seven-year contract with the Canucks.
