BUFFALO — They arrive at rookie camp with eyes wide and smiles bright, speaking of hope, promise, and endless success. This is the starting point, be it a stairway to heaven or a trapdoor to who-knows-where?
Jake DeBrusk reported here Thursday for his third rookie camp with the Bruins. He has those requisite wide eyes and that bright smile (his brighter than many, in fact), but he also has reason to be a little more focused than many of the Black-and-Gold hopefuls.
The 6-foot, 190-pound left winger played a full season of pro last season, became a vital piece of the AHL Bruins’ success, and he has a realistic shot to be sporting a varsity sweater when the Bruins open the NHL season on Oct. 5.
“He’s earned himself a good long look,’’ said John Ferguson Jr., the Providence general manager who is also Don Sweeney’s assistant GM in Boston. “There are a lot of aspects to his game that point toward the NHL. Certainly the timing of that is going to be up to him a little bit — and performance of others, and injury — but he has progressed very well.’’
The Bruins are here through Monday as part of a four-team Prospects Challenge, along with the Sabres, Penguins, and Devils, prior to training camps opening in full next Thursday.
DeBrusk, 20, is a sure shot to advance when the doors officially swing open in Brighton, not only because of his burnished AHL résumé (19-30—49 in 74 games), but because of the overhaul Sweeney has staged among Boston’s forward corps. With only seven jobs considered secure for returnees, four of those at center, there are five winger positions up for grabs.
“There’s more bodies than spots,’’ said DeBrusk, acknowledging a field of a dozen or more qualified candidates. “Everybody wants it really bad. It’s not going to be easy. It’s the best league in the world.’’
One of Boston’s three first-round picks in the 2015 draft, DeBrusk has the kind of speed and scoring finish to be considered for second-line duty with David Krejci. Another rookie contender here, ex-Notre Dame standout Anders Bjork, could vie for the right side of that line. All of that, and much more, will be what coach Bruce Cassidy sorts out in the three weeks leading to opening night.
DeBrusk, fresh out of junior hockey last September, didn’t look out of place in his brief preseason audition prior to being dispatched to the AHL. There were also times during the season, said Sweeney, that he considered calling DeBrusk to Boston, only to keep him with the WannaB’s, figuring a full season of AHL development would prove more valuable to his career arc.
“His first four or six weeks, he was kind of in that mode of, you know, you could see he was able to do things at the junior level that he couldn’t get away with as a pro,’’ said Jay Leach, recently promoted from assistant to head coach with Providence. “Then it kind of clicked for him, and it was quick . . . and that happens for a lot of guys, which is actually the best thing about coaching. He started to get inside. He started to separate a little bit. Nice finish. Not scared to go to places where some people are scared to go. He’s got a lot of upside, for sure.’’
The learning curve became obvious to DeBrusk in his first regular-season game with Providence. On the attack, he chased a puck into the corner and held it there with his back to the slot as he considered options, at which point an Albany defenseman riddled him with a series of stiff cross-checks.
“It was a ‘Welcome to the AHL’ moment,’’ recalled DeBrusk, who scored 42 goals in junior in the season leading to the 2015 draft. “He hits me five or six times cross the back and I’m looking around, waiting for a call, and I’m like, ‘OK, no call?’ It’s a battle. It’s a grind. I was getting a little manhandled in certain moments, where I was excelling in junior.
“But as the season went on, you learned not to do certain things, like give up your back, or give up the puck . . . move your feet a little quicker so you get out of the way. Just a whole year of playing that schedule helped me get better and stronger.’’
DeBrusk played in Boston’s 7-4 loss here to the Sabres on Saturday night. And with 9:35 gone in the third period, he finally dropped the gloves after 6-foot-10-inch blue liner Arvin Atwal initiated the bout with two or three quick jabs.
“The guy had about six punches on me with my gloves still on,’’ said DeBrusk. “Then I finally dropped ’em and there was no instigator. I didn’t think he’d be punching, and then I feel three punches to my head, and I’m like, ‘Whoa, what’s going on here?’ He got in about seven good ones and I didn’t even feel it — that’s what I was telling him in the [penalty] box.’’
DeBrusk played left wing, with Bjork on the right side, on a line centered by ex-BU pivot Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson.
At his best, said Ferguson, DeBrusk show a penchant for breaking away from checkers and preventing them from catching up to regain the puck. He also willingly closed down shooting lanes and dropped his gloves when called for — a growing rarity in today’s game. That combo of new-age skill and old-school grit could serve him well these next couple of weeks. Training camp feistiness and fisticuffs have a way of catching a coach’s eye.
Far more telling, though, will be DeBrusk’s ability to contribute to the offense when auditioned with Krejci. With Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak fixed as Patrice Bergeron’s running mates last season, Cassidy tried countless sidekicks for Krjeci, including deadline acquisition Drew Stafford, on the No. 2 line. None of the combos, including high-end free agent David Backes, worked with great success.
Through junior, DeBrusk played all three forward spots, and at times found playing his off-wing (right) to his advantage. He’ll most likely line up on the left side, but his ability to flip wings will be an option that Cassidy might consider.
With five jobs to be filled, versatility is another factor that will play in DeBrusk’s favor. He also saw regular penalty-killing duty last season, along with ample time on the power play.
“I don’t want to complicate things or oversimplify things,’’ said DeBrusk. “I think for me personally, I just want to do the things that have brought me to this moment — then build and get better. I think I got faster and stronger in the offseason. They asked me to work on that. It will be interesting to see what happens.’’
Two years ago, he shipped back to junior for another year of seasoning. One September later, a year of postgrad work was in order in Providence.
He’ll be 21 next month, and hopes that this is the year that promise turns into the practice of day-to-day NHL life.
“I think that I’ve got the skill set to help the Bruins,’’ he said. “If I play my game, and if I play the right way, the way that I played last year, I think I’ll give myself a good chance to make it. I don’t care where I play. I don’t care who I play with . . . I just want to help the team win and I just want to make it. I know that means it’s going to be a dogfight. But I’m really excited for that.’’
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com.
