The Vancouver Canucks have kicked off their 2025 Training Camp in Penticton. Among the almost 60 players in attendance is Jake DeBrusk, who is looking to build off a 28-goal campaign from last season. The 28-year-old will get plenty of opportunities to set new career highs in 2025-26, as he is projected to play on Vancouver's first line, as well as on the power play.
As expected, DeBrusk opened training camp on a line with Elias Pettersson. As for the third member of the trio, that is Brock Boeser, who signed a seven-year extension on July 1. For DeBrusk, his goal for training camp is not just to develop some chemistry with his linemates, but to shake off the rust from a long off-season.
"It was good," said DeBrusk. "Still get a little nervous still. I don't know how many camps it has been for me, but it's nice. Everyone's healthy, everyone's in good spirits. We had a pretty good pace, I thought, today, especially in the first skate of the two. Getting the legs moving, seeing the fans out here, it's go time again. Physically, I felt okay. I didn't feel too great, to be honest with you. I didn't have the jump I wanted. Had some tough hand moments out there, but working through the kinks. But honestly, I feel pretty good. I feel that I'm in a good spot to kind of hone everything in before it gets going here, and I want to keep improving every day to be ready for game one."
One major change with the organization this year is the coaching staff. Adam Foote has replaced Rick Tocchet as head coach, while Kevin Dean, Brett McLean and Scott Young will serve as assistant coaches. As DeBrusk explained, Foote is already having an impact on the team both on and off the ice.
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"Well, Adam's Adams, you know. I think he's pretty true to himself, and I think that comes off really well with a guy like me. You know what to expect. He's pretty clear on what he wants in terms of direction and video, different things as of now, which was not too different than last year, when he was doing the penalty kill and things that nature. And I thought it ran well. I thought that today was really smooth. I felt like the drills had meaning to them, and there was a process there. I think that for me, I'm just excited."
Shifting back to the off-season, DeBrusk had a viral moment that ended up sweeping through Canucks nation. In August, he was filmed at the Overtime Card Show in Calgary, Alberta, trading Pokémon cards. When asked about the moment, DeBrusk explained that he didn't expect the video to blow up to this level and also revealed what his teammates think of his new hobby.
"A lot of time off. So that's what I've been telling the guys. to sound cool. I mean, I didn't know the camera was out. But then once the camera came out, I thought it would be, I don't know if it was gonna go everywhere, but it was gonna go everywhere in three days or three, three years, and then it was everywhere. So I can't hide it no more. But yeah, side hobby, I picked up a side hustle, and it's been kind of funny actually to see the reaction. (Teammates) They look at me differently. Now, that's for sure. I definitely lost some street cred. Yeah, definitely, some street cred there. So I'm earning that back. I don't know how. Paid for coffees yesterday and lunch, so I don't know if I'm just paying for everything now. I'm paying for my friends on this team. It's getting a little suspect, not gonna lie."
As mentioned, DeBrusk is projected to start the season playing on a line with Pettersson. While the duo did play a significant portion of the 2024-25 season together, they struggled at times and weren't able to have as big an impact as many hoped for. Now entering their second year together, DeBrusk is focused on building more chemistry with Pettersson so the two can create a dynamic partnership in 2025-26.
"I learned a lot, honestly, just in terms of how he wants to play the game. How he thinks the game, and where he is on the ice as well. I think that was something that took a little longer than I would like to admit for me to figure out. I didn't really know where to go on the ice when he was there. Kind of funny because he's such a good player, you've got to pretty much get to the net or, you know, get to the scoring areas. But with him and Brock, I think they're both different players, but they play the same type of way. Today, we had a couple of five-on-five drills. Everyone was in positions and just trying to work on it. I played with them last year. We had some good moments and some bad moments, and we're talking through and trying to improve."
DeBrusk's ability to produce offensively will be key if Vancouver wants to make it back to the playoffs. He set the bar high in year one with 28 goals and has the potential to set a new career high this coming season. Ultimately, it should be a big year for DeBrusk, who should once again be among the Canucks leaders in points by the end of the campaign.
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