The weekend might have ended on a sour note for the Canucks as a team, losing 9-4 to the Vegas Golden Knights on home ice Sunday, but there's one overwhelming positive that's breaking through like beams of light through the grey overcast of a mid-day storm.
Even acting head coach Trent Cull (filling in for Travis Green, who flew with the Canucks' veterans to China for games against the Kings later this week) couldn't help but notice. Amid the chaos of a game with a shinny score and beer league structure, Cull couldn't help but take a moment and appreciate Brock Boeser's performance in its midst.
"It’s tough to say you had a lot of bright spots with that kind of a score, but [Boeser] has that -- as I’m starting to learn -- ability to slow the game down," Cull said to a room of reporters when asked about Boeser's three-point night. "He can still play with pace, but he certainly makes the players around him better, with how he plays and how he thinks the game. He’s a guy who’s certainly growing on me".
All hail your prince Brock Boeser, Vancouver pic.twitter.com/4u8EJFjvbI
— Wyatt Arndt (@TheStanchion) September 17, 2017
Playing with pace has been a focus of Boeser's since the Canucks drafted him 23rd overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. On his first goal of the night, you could see the work he's put in since.
Knights defender Nicholas Hague isn't a burner by any means, but Boeser made it look like he was skating in quicksand. The 20-year-old Canucks sniper took the puck outside before driving the net and roofing it past Knights goaltender Dylan Ferguson. Hague, standing at 6'6", couldn't even lay a finger on him.
"[Jayson] Megna made a nice turnover, and I saw the defence pivot the wrong way, so I just noticed an opportunity there," offered Boeser.
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"I think [the Canucks and I] agreed that skating is something every player can work on, and that I could work on," Boeser told Sporting News Canada. "That’s been my main focus -- it has been for the past three summers".
The progress Boeser has made so far is undeniable. From his nine-game stint with the Canucks last season to his time with the club this September (in the Young Stars exhibition tournament and pre-season alike), there's been a noticeable difference.
It's not just Boeser's stride that looks better. Last season, a wrist injury forced Boeser to the operating table in mid-December. Even when he joined the Canucks at season's end, the aftermath of that surgery meant lingering pain and discomfort. Boeser's hand and wrist were taped up like that of a prize fighter in each of the nine games he played with the Canucks.
"Yeah, it’s feeling a lot better, and I think I’m getting a lot more shots through than last year when I had an injured wrist," Boeser said. "During that time span, it took me longer to get shots off, and I was getting pucks blocked -- it was frustrating. It feels a lot better now."
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Hard to believe Boeser could best the 2.78 shots per game he put up last season. Yet here we are two pre-season games in and Boeser has six shots -- three per game, for anyone keeping track. He's turned three of those shots into goals, including a top corner overtime winner in Los Angeles.
"I just try to get the pucks on net when I feel good about myself," Boeser told reporters after Sunday's game. "It definitely helps my confidence a little bit".
Nothing like some OT magic, courtesy of @BBoeser16, to kick-start the preseason. #LoveThisGame pic.twitter.com/jNUqAdDq7F
— NHL (@NHL) September 16, 2017
The Canucks were 29th in scoring last season. They've spent a summer trying to improve upon that mostly in free agency. One unintended consequence is that it has the potential to keep otherwise ready young Canucks from the lineup.
Boeser finds himself right in the thick of that competition. By Canucks general manager Jim Benning's estimation, there are two roster spots up for grabs, and he's open to young players, like Boeser, taking them in training camp.
"I’m just worrying about earning a spot -- any spot I can earn to get in the NHL and stay in the NHL," Boeser said of the logjam at forward. "Obviously, that’s my main goal. I think I’ve just got to earn it".
Five points in the first two preseason games? That's a good start.