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DeBrusk getting chirped by his Vancouver Canucks teammates for Pokemon hobby

Trevor Beggs
Trevor Beggs
|
Sep 18 2025, 10:28 pm
DeBrusk getting chirped by his Vancouver Canucks teammates for Pokemon hobby
Bob Frid/Imagn Images

Jake DeBrusk isn’t the first hockey player to have an interesting hobby away from the rink.

However, he did confirm that he is the only member of the Vancouver Canucks to collect Pokemon cards.

“They look at me differently, that’s for sure,” DeBrusk said with a laugh. “I definitely lost some street cred, so I’m earning that back.”

So, how does a guy like DeBrusk earn back the respect of his teammates?

“I paid for coffees yesterday… and lunch, so I don’t know if I’m just paying for everything now. It’s getting a little suspect, not gonna lie.”

DeBrusk started collecting Pokemon cards about five months ago.

“Well, I had a lot of time off, so that’s what I’ve been telling the guys to sound cool,” the 28-year-old said.

Back in August, the Edmonton native appeared in an Instagram video chatting with “Shiny Cardboard Collector” about buying a Pokemon card. The card he purchased was well in excess of $1,000.

“Once the camera came out, I didn’t know if it was gonna go everywhere (viral) in three days, or three years, but then, it was everywhere,” he said.

“So I can’t hide it no more. It’s a little side hobby I picked up, a little side hustle, and it’s been kind of funny actually, see what the reaction is.”

In terms of his full-time job, DeBrusk was placed in a prominent spot to start training camp, skating on a potential number one line alongside Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser.

DeBrusk played with Pettersson for 517 of his 833 even-strength minutes last season. They had some good moments, but were largely disappointing together. The Canucks got outscored 22-20 when DeBrusk and Pettersson were on the ice together, and the team controlled just 45.6% of expected goals in those minutes.

“I learned a lot [playing with Pettersson last year], just in terms of how he wants to play the game, how he thinks the game and where he is on the ice positionally,” DeBrusk said. “I think that was something that took a little longer than I would like to admit, for me, to figure out.”

“Last year, we had some good moments and some bad moments, and we’re talking it through and trying to improve.”

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