Everyone needs a little stress release, and that’s especially true if you play for the Vancouver Canucks.
However, no one on the Canucks seems to have the same off-ice passion for Pokémon as winger Jake DeBrusk.
The 29-year-old’s interest in Pokémon cards was revealed last offseason, after a clip of him at a card show went viral.
His appearance on the social media accounts of user @shiny_cardboardcollector certainly picked up steam, and even his Canucks teammates took note.
“They look at me differently, that’s for sure,” DeBrusk said with a laugh back at Canucks training camp. “I definitely lost some street cred, so I’m earning that back.”
Despite receiving some jovial jabs from teammates, DeBrusk hasn’t slowed down on the Pokémon front.
DeBrusk paid another visit to the Pokémon card collector, but this time the Canucks winger didn’t fly under the radar.
“You blew my cover, bro!” DeBrusk joked, referencing the video from last year.
“You just didn’t think about telling me?” the collector said. “Why would you not tell me?!”
DeBrusk’s response? “I thought it would be funny.”
DeBrusk said that his status as a hockey player doesn’t benefit him in card negotiations.
“Are people giving you better deals?” the collector asked.
“Well, actually, if they don’t know me, they do,” DeBrusk replied.
During the most recent video, DeBrusk revealed part of his collection.
According to the collector who posted the clip, six of DeBrusk’s cards that he showed equalled $61,750. The most expensive one came in at $19,000, but that was only part of his collection.
It also doesn’t seem like DeBrusk’s Pokémon love is slowing down anytime soon. In fact, could we get some DeBrusk Pokémon content of his own?
“I might actually have enough to vend now,” he said, referring to being a vendor at Pokémon trading shows.
As the Canucks approach a long offseason, look out for more DeBrusk Pokémon content through the warmer months. He even hinted as much in the collector’s video.
“I’ll see you in the summer,” DeBrusk said.