Bruins general manager Don Sweeney agrees,
saying on Monday night that while he considers DeBrusk to be one of the best players in his peer group
, there is still another level or two that he can reach, particularly when it comes to expanding his game past being simply a pure goal scorer.
"I agree with what he said," DeBrusk said when asked about Sweeney's comments regarding him becoming more of a penalty killer and forechecker. "Obviously, we have great penalty killers and great special teams since I've been in the league. I think that, especially on the forecheck, I'm one of the fastest guys on the team, and when I'm playing well, I'm skating. I could definitely put more pressure on D-men and be more physical in those corners too.
"It's not necessarily the right idea if I'm not pushing the pace of play and pushing the forecheck…just kind of just disrupting plays, disrupting breakouts, and it can cause turnovers and obviously can create chaos around the net.
"I think it actually just goes hand in hand with my game. It's not necessarily thinking differently. It's just more being fully aggressive - just going all out, all the time is kind of what that means."
To do that on a consistent basis, more physicality and strength is required. As such, the 6-foot, 188-pounder has made bulking up a main focus during what has been the most unusual offseason of his young career. In addition to three on-ice sessions a week, DeBrusk has been in the gym training up to five times a week as he aims to become more of a physical force.
"I think I've put on some weight already and have really been attacking just getting stronger overall," said DeBrusk. "That's my main focus…there's no reason why I can't have a hit per game. And that goes hand in hand with what I was just talking about earlier with the forechecking. I think that that's been a main focus of mine. I'm not saying I'm going to be running around out there, but obviously I could finish checks more.
"That's usually how I play. That's how I've been known to play. It just didn't really happen much [last season] and it's one thing I felt like it affected my game a lot. It could open up space for me, my teammates and also just getting the puck. That's the biggest thing."