When Braeden Cootes arrived at Vancouver Canucks training camp last week, the rookie saw many new things.
For a self-described “hockey sponge” there were lots of things to learn about, things to soak up.
And then he saw Jake DeBrusk’s stick. He and DeBrusk are about the same height, so he was astounded to see a stick that looked as long as the twig he uses for his off-ice training, when he’s not on skates.
“It looked like a mini-stick,” he joked. Of course it’s not quite that short, but you get the point.
Seriously, get a look at DeBrusk’s stick. You won’t be able to un-see how short it is.
“Oh I know,” DeBrusk said with a grin when asked about it. “It’s gotta be one of the shortest ones out there.”
Using a short stick when you are a goal scorer has its obvious purposes: it’s easier to control the puck and get some height on your shot when you’re near the net.
“Those tips, too. It’s like you’ve got a raquet in front,” the 28 year old pointed out.
Jake DeBrusk skates with the puck against the Colorado Avalanche, April 10.
After a 28-goal season, you’d think he’d stick with it. And yet, it turns out, DeBrusk is a fiddler. He never stops trying new sticks out. Almost every day he’s trying something different.
“Different lengths. I think every single skate since I’ve been here, I’ve had a different stick because I’m trying to figure out the right happy medium,” he said. Some players settle on a pattern and never deviate over the course of their career, but DeBrusk’s Bauer Hyperlite 2 model is in constant flux.
And it’s because of his overall game, he said.
“I feel like last year I wasn’t doing much on the forecheck. The short stick was a bit of a negative. You can’t reach,” he said. “Defending too. You’re playing one on one, that reach again. It can’t get there.”
“Forechecking, that’s kind of what my calling card was: hounding and buzzing around.”
He’s also starting to think more situationally. He’s not swapped around sticks in games before, but that could be coming.
“I think that five on five, I can have a different type of stick and then I can bring out the money one for the power play,” he said with a grin. “Or if I’m struggling, I can just go back to the tried and true, even though, you know, it’s really small.”
He’s in the thick of it now, though. Over the summer, he focused on his puck skills, keeping his hands loose and familiar. But since he’s arrived back in Vancouver, he’s started fiddling.
“Obviously, we got the new sticks in,” he explained. “You start messing around with it a little bit. Everyone’s been like, ‘you couldn’t have done this over the summer?’ But I’d rather do it now, when you’re competing.”
SICK BAY — Nils Hoglander is out week-to-week, assistant coach Brett McLean told reporters Friday, before that evening’s pre-season game vs. the Seattle Kraken. The Swedish winger injured his lower leg during the second period of Wednesday’s game in Abbotsford vs. the Calgary Flames and medical testing on Thursday confirmed the injury. According to CHEK-TV’s Rick Dhaliwal, Hoglander is dealing with a sprained ankle. Week to week could mean as short a time frame as a week from now, but even a minimal ankle sprain would mean at least two weeks out, so he’s out until at least the opening weekend. If he stays out, that opens the door for a young forward, Braeden Cootes or Jonathan Lekkerimaki most likely, to make the team.