Canucks: 3 takeaways from Brock Boeser’s 2019-20 season
Brock Boeser had an off-year scoring goals, but the Vancouver Canucks know he’s still an NHL sniper. Here are three takeaways from his 2019-20 year.
As the wait for playoff hockey continues, The Canuck Way has been reviewing the Vancouver Canucks‘ 2019-20 regular season in its entirety and revealing three of the biggest takeaways for each and every main roster player.
To this point, I’ve had the opportunity to review the season had by Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson, Bo Horvat, and Jacob Markstrom. Today, the microscope lands on Vancouver’s top sniper, the pure goal-scorer Brock Boeser.
It was another very promising campaign that was halted by injuries yet again. But still, with the time he had, his grip at the top only seemed to tighten. The chemistry of the “Lotto Line” gained momentum faster than a wildfire in August, and he was good enough to be a part of one of the best lines in hockey today.
His wrist shot may have taken a bit of a back seat this year behind Pettersson and J.T. Miller, but now with help finishing the play, Boeser got a fair shake at rounding out his two-way game. Here are my three biggest takeaways from Boeser’s season.
He was better than most people think
In his first year of a three-year pact that carries a total of $17.625 million dollars, Boeser played 57 games and scored 45 points (16 goals and 29 assists). Sadly, injuries and a shortened season resulted in Boeser’s failure to reach the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career, but actually this happened to be his best season when you look at it from a Points Per Game perspective.
Canucks fans expect more than just 16 goals a season from a nearly $6 million dollar player don’t get me wrong, but when Boeser wasn’t scoring goals he was making up for it in other areas of his game. When his shot wasn’t quite right, he knew it. But still, he always found a way to contribute and make his teammates better.
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The goals from his stick will return in time, but what Boeser was able to do creatively with the puck stays now. He saw a rise in his assists per game, total assists, and primary assists. He had 1.36 assists/60 minutes at five-on-five action which skyrocketed from his previous best of 0.96. His goals maybe weren’t there on full display, but his production never waivered.
Travis Green needed Boeser to be a different kind of player this year and he succeeded. He shifted his focus away from the shot and became more about team play and possession. Sure, a few more goals would have been the icing on top, but the improvement in his two-way game and playmaking ability will go a much longer way for him as an NHL player overall.
He’ll look like a much more rounded and complete player because of what he was able to accomplish away from shooting the puck this year. It may not have seemed like it, but Boeser took big strides forward this year. All he needs now is a fully healthy season to put it all together. And that leads me into my next big takeaway.
Boeser needs to stay healthy
Call it whatever you want, but Boeser hasn’t been able to put together a fully healthy season in the National Hockey League since his arrival in 2017. It could be dumb luck, or it could be the start of something serious. Whatever the reason is, it needs to be dealt with sooner or later. Boeser needs to prove he can stay healthy and he hasn’t done that yet.
He missed 20 games at the end of his rookie year with a gruesome back injury that likely cost him the Calder Trophy. The following season wasn’t much better as he missed another 13 games with groin problems. Finally, though, Boeser had a healthy offseason and planned for a breakout year. That was until a concussion in pre-season set him back again.
Luckily, he managed not to miss the season opener and showed signs of promise. It was a shaky start but he managed to play in 56 straight games before getting hurt again. The playoff tempo picked up and he suffered a bad tear to his rib cartilage after what looked like quite the harmless hit. Not even knocked off his feet on the play, he was still forced to miss 12 contests. Where’s the toughness?
Now, I’m not saying that Boeser is a bad player, but before the Canucks can lock this guy in for the long-term they need to know he can remain healthy. Only then will Jim Benning know what he truly has in the Minnesota native. Next season might be make or break for the sniper.
Boeser can play up and down the lineup
Boeser always looks best when he’s playing on the same line as Pettersson, but this year BB6 proved he’s capable of handling his own with or without his better half. Yes, the majority of his minutes were spent filling out top-line duties, but when he had to, he played good on lines two and three as well.
His chemistry with Horvat and Adam Gaudette was different than it was with Petey, but when he’s down the lineup there is less pressure and more opportunities to score goals. Not sharing the ice with Pettersson gave Boeser more time to be the man who pulls the trigger. It benefitted him when he was struggling to score, and it gave players down the lineup something to work up to.
Think about him this year as the Canucks’ version of Phil Kessel. He’s the man, but he’s not the man. Less responsibility equaled more production. When he slipped away from line one he gained more confidence when shooting the puck and it benefitted him and the team. He got back to what he liked most (scoring goals), and the Canucks got to spread out their scoring talent. It was a win-win situation, especially once Tyler Toffoli arrived.
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