The Vancouver Canucks have a lot of fan favourites on their roster right now, but Brock Boeser should be one of your favourites and if he isn’t, take a look into the life and hockey career to date of the Flow.
From the time he donned a Vancouver Canucks sweater, Brock Boeser was a symbol of hope for a franchise that was soon to lose two of the best players in franchise history. The splash he made in his short debut with the team at the end of the 2016-2017 season where he had four goals and one assist in nine games was one that made Canucks fans hopeful about the future. We had our first young star in over a decade and people were loving it.
Brock’s rookie season had extremely high expectations after his dominance in North Dakota and his appearance the past season. He made an instant difference on the power play; scoring nine goals and adding 13 assists, changing the percent from an abysmal 14.1% compared to the league average of 19.1% in 2016-2017 to a more respectable 21.5% compared to the league average of 20.2%.
Boeser and Mathew Barzal were the only real competition for the Calder trophy, and it was becoming a tight race; Barzal was accumulating mass assists but Boeser was showing his pure goal scoring prowess, all in all, a balanced race for the Calder.
Brock Boeser's rookie season is likely over with a lower back injury. pic.twitter.com/RQLT2Eeahd
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 6, 2018
That’s when it happened, the life of the Fanbase was drained from the carcass of our dreams. Boeser went down with a freak injury, breaking the transverse process in his back causing him to miss the last 20 games of the season; thankfully he would make a full recovery and return for the next season. Boeser was still a runner-up for the Calder despite missing those 20 games.
This past season Brock fell into what some would classify as a sort of slump, fans need to remember that Boeser didn’t get an opportunity to train last summer after his injury and he still managed to maintain that level of play from his sensational rookie campaign, only falling from 29 goals to 26, but he also rose from 26 assists to 30, overall increasing his point total from 55 to 56, even with all the pressure of the twins leaving being put onto Brock and his new pal Elias Pettersson.
The arrival of Elias Pettersson has unfairly caused fans to forget about Brock. While Pettersson is an incredible talent and the undisputed best player on the team, its more than just what happens on the ice that makes a player likeable, Brock has an incredible story and is amazingly humble.
Building Brock is an incredible piece and it honestly made me so much happier to have a person like Brock on our team. There are players that you love on your team because they are pests or good hockey players, but Brock isn’t just a great hockey player, he’s an incredible person.
Brock has a very strong relationship with his family and it shows, as most kids are embarrassed by mom or dad at their hockey games, Brock gave his Dad a hug and kiss after each game. When his Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease it was even more important for Brock to be a rock emotionally for his family.
Having a family member go through something as difficult as Parkinson’s is one thing, but on what was supposed to be one of the best weekends of his hockey life captaining in the U18 Ivan Hlinka Hockey Tournament, Brock received a tragic phone call; his best friend had gotten in a car crash and died, while his other friend was in critical condition. While most people go through some tragedy in their life, Brock has remained humble, kind and loyal, not letting his tragedies rule him.
Brock got the call to play for the U18 team for the spring tournament; he told them he would go and want to go but I can’t leave till my seasons done. Showing true loyalty and commitment to the team. He also has a fun and approachable nature which makes it awesome to watch him with young fans.
Brock also took a 20-year old girl with Down Syndrome named Baylee Bjorge to her prom, and also meets up with her and hangs out with her at games. This is a very very touching story that can be found at the 13 minute mark of Building Brock. (Included above)
Travis Green got a lot of hate for scratching Brock the first two games of the year but it was Boeser who was honest with Green about his conditioning and his state and told Green that he was tired. What’s not to like about this kid?