Veteran winger ready to turn page from disappointing and distracted season
Veteran winger ready to turn page from disappointing and distracted season
Brock Boeser has played more games in a Vancouver Canucks uniform than any player on the team's current roster. But now entering his seventh full National Hockey League season, the 26-year-old has never played a playoff game at Rogers Arena. He wants that to change. And he wants that to change this season.
Boeser was among a number of Canucks regulars taking part in a September skate at the University of British Columbia on Wednesday morning. And afterward, Boeser suggested that the veterans on the team had taken head coach Rick Tocchet's suggestion to heart -- to gather ahead of training camp so that the group is ready to put its best foot forward when the season begins.
"I think we're all just sick and tired of having these expectations and not following through," Boeser said of missing the playoffs the past three seasons. "Tocc came in here and pushed us. Even though we weren't in the playoffs, he kept pushing us each and every day. It's important to come in better shape. He told all of us guys that are returning camp is going to be really hard this year. He warned us, so we'll see hard camp is."
For his part, Boeser knows he needs to be better than the 18-goal season he mustered last season. In the second year of a three-year contract that pays $6.65M, the Burnsville, Minnesota native struggled with the loss of his father and the turmoil that surrounded the team for much of last season.
Boeser's season started with a broken hand in training camp which put him squarely behind the 8-ball. He had just five goals at Christmas time and that inconsistency nearly made him a healthy scratch for the first time in his career.
But Boeser says that's all in the past and he's back in town now looking to leave last year in the rear view mirror.
"I think I kind of flipped the page at the end of last season," he explained. "You know, I let everyone know how I felt about coming back. From that point on, it was out of my control. I'm just happy to be back with the guys and I love it here. I feel like I've expressed that a lot. I've flipped a page and I'm just focussed on this year now. The last couple of seasons have been tough. I'm not going to sit here and promise you anything anymore. I just have to take it day by day and prove it to my teammates and the city."
As for the personal heartache of losing his father Duke at the age of 61 to complications from Parkinson's Disease in May of 2022, Boeser feels he's better equipped now to deal with his emotions than he was through much of last season.
"Last year was definitely a hurdle mentally," he said. "It was a little different. Obviously, I'm still dealing with the loss of my dad. We figured it out and kind of got over that hump. You sit there and wonder why certain things happen. But I've come to that peace and our family have all kind of found that peace. In that regard, I feel a lot better mentally. I feel really motivated right now and I'm really excited to get camp going."
Boeser changed his off-season routine slightly this summer and began working with a new trainer back home in Minnesota in the hopes of achieving the best fitness levels of his career.
He says the early returns are promising although he knows informal workouts ahead of camp are hardly a barometer of fitness and conditioning levels. But all the work he put in during the off-season should serve him well when camp officially begins on September 21st.
"Just working out wise, I thought I'd change gyms and try something new," he explained of switching his summer routine. "I've been working really hard. I started in the gym a little earlier. I've been skating hard. I'm excited to be out here early. The new trainer we got set up with used to be in the NHL. He was a great guy for this summer and was really motivating."
Brock Boeser knows he'll be under the microscope this season. It comes with the territory in a market like Vancouver. He also knows it's one thing to say all the right things. Soon it will be time to back up those words with his actions.
