This is what I call the Krejci argument. People hammer Krejci because what they see on TV looks like he doesnt care because he doesnt show emotion. Your impression is based off the 14-16 minutes you see him play in a game. You're not in the locker room, the practices or in any situation where you truly know what's going on with a player and what their personality is like.
Quite right, I'm not in the locker room. Of course it's my subjective assessment based on what I've seen of his performances and demeanor on the ice, in interviews and a little bit on social media, and what I know of his background. Funnily enough I don't view Krejci at all in that way. I think he's one of the hardest working, most professional players on the current roster. A superficial assessment of on-ice emotion tells you extraordinarily little. Look at DeBrusk - few Bruins celebrate a goal or show as much joy at a teammate scoring as he does. Great, he enjoys team success. Tells me precious little about his own work ethic or the way he's seeking to develop his own abilities.
You have to go a little deeper. The obvious thing to look at with Jake is his relationship with his father. Louie was an ok player who forged a decent career out of the skills nature gave him. He wasn't the most talented guy going around so he made up for it by having some real sauce and physicality in his game. He strikes me as a dad who is very proud that his son has followed in his footsteps, and would have encouraged him in doing so, but he also seems like a very reasonable guy who would have pushed his son but not played the role of the obsessed dad who drives his child towards perfection and endless practice.
Jake is a slightly different prospect. He's more naturally talented than his father, so while he may want to emulate his dad in having a respectable NHL career, he doesn't really have to chase his achievements or certain aspects of his style. Once he's made it and is comfortably ensconced in the NHL mix, he's met that base goal that is part of his inheritance. Everyone who makes the NHL has to have worked hard and have a high level of ambition. But because of his natural ability and his parentage, DeBrusk probably hasn't had to exert himself quite as much as many in the rarefied atmosphere of top level pro-sports. Couple all this with what appears to be a fairly calm, relaxed, not overly intellectual personality, and he strikes me as a guy who has just a slight sense of entitlement and contentedness. Not in a narcissistic or arrogant manner, just in a sense that he takes his career slightly for granted and is not burning with ambition to become the absolute greatest player he can possibly be. He's nowhere near lazy or without a desire to be better, but through a combination of his upbringing and personality, I don't think he has the drive to find that extra 5% of ability that only comes with 50% more work that separates good from great.
That's my read on him. I don't claim it to be obviously correct - it may be close to the mark or miles wide. If others see him differently I have no problem with that whatsoever. Only time will tell.