<div align="center">Meet Leif De Bruin</div>
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Translated from Danish culture the surname, De Bruin, means “The Bear.” This translation seems to fit that of young prospect Leif De Bruin quite well. At 6’3” 215lbs, the 18 year old center-man looks more like a NFL strong safety, than a hockey player.

“He’s definitely a moose.” Former high school coach Don Ekman said of De Bruin. “His physical presence on the ice is hard to ignore. He’s not afraid to battle for the puck in the corners and I think that’s going to serve him well in his pursuit of an SHL career.”

Hailing from Pennsylvania, De Bruin considers himself to be a true-blue American ice hockey player despite his Swedish heritage. His Father Jakob De Bruin was a long-time player in the Swedish Elite league, however, was never quite able to make the transition to North American hockey. Leif, himself, was born in Halmsted, Sweden, however, relocated to the United States with his family at the age of only 3. It’s been a debate among experts for quite some time which nationality the Swedish born American would cling to if ever asked to play in international tournaments. While many experts believe that Leif’s father would eventually persuade the young center to represent the land of his heritage in international competition, many comments from Leif himself have led us to believe that red, white and blue might in fact be his colors of choice. With De Bruin beginning to garner national attention, both USA and Sweden appear on their seats waiting for the day that this young man declares his official country of representation.

As a player, De Bruin has all the skills necessary to someday become a big time SHL athlete. He is a gifted skater with solid puck handling and accurate passing. He is definitely a pass first center, however, the skill to finish plays and score on his own are there as well. While most people consider De Bruins size to be a great advantage, Leif doesn't tend to play an overly physical game. His checking is poor for someone of his scale and he doesn't seem to make the bone crushing hits that other players his size make. With that being said, he isn't afraid to fight for pucks in the corner and is very hard to knock off base when the puck is on his stick. Defensively, he is only average. There is some skill there but it's believed that under the right coach he could develop this part of his game considerably. Overall, this is prospect that should excite a lot of GM's. The future is bright for this young star.

Our SHL insider, Jean Dupuis, caught up with Leif De Bruin at a recent “Future Stars Event” to ask him about the upcoming season and some of his plans as he prepares to enter the SMJHL. Heres what he had to say.

[b]Jean- First of all, thanks Leif for catching up with us. We know that this time of year has been incredibly busy for, thanks for taking the time,

LDB- Thank you for having me. It’s always great to brush up on some of my interview skills with the draft coming in the next few months.

Jean- Let’s talk about that a little. Your name is one that has started to make the rounds in a lot of GM circles. The more time that goes by, the more it looks like you’re rising up a lot of draft boards. What do you think about that?

LDB- Well it’s great. It’s a very exciting time in my career. I’ve worked hard for a long time to get to this point and it’s a great feeling when it all starts to pay off.

Jean- What are your hopes going into the draft? Do you see yourself as a high pick?

LDB- Really my only hope is to find a great city to play hockey in. Where I play is much more important to me than when I’m drafted. I’d like to go somewhere with a win now mentality who has their eyes set on winning a championship rather than re-building. I love to win, I hate to loose and I think I could be a real asset for a team trying to compete. So, yeah it’s more important that I find the right team rather than the high pick.

Jean- Leif, a lot of people have speculated which national team you would play for if you ever got to that level in your career. You obviously live in the United States, but you where born in Sweden. Which country would win your heart if you ever had to compete internationally?

LDB- Yea, I get this question a lot. Honestly, my family asks me this question a lot to. First of all, it would be amazing just to have the opportunity to represent one of those countries someday. Both of them hold a special place with me and I have a great deal of pride for both of them. At this point in my career, however, I think I just need to focus on the here and now. I would love to compete internationally someday but until that day comes it will just have remain a mystery as to who I would compete for.

Jean- So what do the next few weeks look like for you Leif. A lot of build of for the draft. Do you spend your time training, are you competing, do you have any visits scheduled with teams in the near future?

LDB- Well the next few weeks are going to be jam packed for me. I don’t have anything in the way of competition. I’m pretty much done competing until the new season kicks off. I have a pretty tough workout regimen that I’ll be sticking to in the upcoming weeks but then it’s really a lot of draft prep. I will be visiting a few teams and doing interviews, obviously the combine will be coming up and I will look forward to working out in that. So really, a very busy couple of months coming up.

Jean- Any specific team your rooting for right now with the playoffs coming up?

LDB- You know a little while ago I might have told a few teams that I would’ve been rooting for but for the next few months every team is my favorite team, ha ha.

Jean- Leif, thanks so much for joining us. Best of luck in the next few weeks.

LDB- Thank Jean, it’s been fun.

The next few months look to be very exciting for this young man and many other prospects just like him. Who will emerge as the consensus number one and who will slide down the draft boards? Only time will tell. Thanks for following or prospect breakdown of Leif De Bruin.
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Welcome to the site, Leif De Bruin!

Nice first article!

Matt Lewis-Flood || G || West Kendall Platoon || 1018 TPE
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Excellent article, Love the name!