DeBrincat has never let his lack of size (5-foot-7, 165 pounds) slow him down.

After starring at Lake Forest Academy in Illinois, DeBrincat spent three seasons piling up goals and points with Erie of the Ontario Hockey League. He scored a goal in his first OHL game and finished his first season with 104 points (51 goals, 53 assists) in 68 games. He also scored a key goal in the quarterfinals to help the United States win the 2016 IIHF World Junior championship.

After his second straight 51-goal season, the Chicago Blackhawks made him their second-round pick (No. 39) in the 2016 NHL Draft. DeBrincat spent a third season with Erie, this time scoring a league-leading 65 goals and finishing with 127 points and a plus-60 rating in 63 games. He won the Red Tilson trophy as the most outstanding player in the OHL.

DeBrincat made the Blackhawks as a 19-year-old in the fall of 2017 and quickly showed the scoring touch he had in junior hockey didn't get lost in the transition to the NHL. He scored his first NHL goal on Oct. 10, 2017, against Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens and became the second-youngest player in Blackhawks history to get a hat trick when he scored three times against the Anaheim Ducks on Nov. 27, 2017.

DeBrincat had 52 points (28 goals, 24 assists) as a rookie in 2017-18, tied for second on the Blackhawks, and followed that up with 76 points in 2018-19 (41 goals, 35 assists), finishing second on Chicago in goals and third in points. He also became the second-youngest player in Blackhawks history (21 years, 100 days) to score 40 goals in a season, behind Jeremy Roenick (21 years, 65 days).

In the 2021-22 season, DeBrincat had NHL career highs in points (78), assists (37) and matched his best in goals (41) while being named an NHL all-star for the first time.

On July 7, 2022, Debrincat was traded to the Ottawa Senators. He had 45 points (20 goals, 25 assists) in 81 games during his only season in Ottawa. He was traded to the Detroit Red Wings on July 9, 2023, and then signed a four-year, $31.5 million contract (average annual value of $7.875 million).