Jake DeBrusk's Streaky Scoring Surge | NHL News

0:00It's September 12th. This is NHL News today, AI-powered updates on your team. I'm Corey with the story. Jake DeBrusk's time with the Vancouver Canucks has been a roller coaster, to say the least. He's known for going on score in tears, sometimes netting 20 goals in a stretch, only to go cold for another 20 games. This pattern has played out over his 163 games with the team. A big chunk of his offense, 33 out of 51 goals, has come from the power play, with only 18 goals scored at even strength. Last season, he hit a career high with 19 power play goals, but only managed 4 even strength goals. Most of his scoring happened late in the season, with 10 goals in March and April alone, after a hot streak in November and another in January. But in between those bursts, there were long stretches where he'd scored just 1 goal in 12 games, or 2 in 26. It's the definition of streaky. Looking ahead to the upcoming season, DeBrusk is expected to start on the top line, and

1:02will be a fixture on the first unit power play. The hope is he can smooth out those scoring droughts and spread his goals more evenly throughout the year. But that's a tough ask, given his career history. Even if the streaks continue, he needs to find a way to contribute more at even strength, as relying solely on power play goals isn't sustainable. Interestingly, his heavy reliance on the power play only started after he joined the conucks. Before the 2024-2025 season, he never reached double digits in power play goals. He's also expected to be a veteran presence in the locker room, a voice of leadership for the team. Projections for DeBrusk suggest he'll continue to be a consistent 20-25 goal score, hitting that mark in 5 of his 9 NHL. In the season, a reasonable point projection for him is 45-50 points, aligning with his career average. He's also approaching milestones like 700 games played and 200 career goals.