You would think that Brock Boeser was making his NHL debut, rather than just his season debut, considering the number of cameras and microphones that surrounded him after the Canucks’ optional game day skate Thursday morning.
Boeser’s absence from the lineup in the first two games of the season has become a story, partly because he led the Canucks in scoring in the preseason, partly because he scored 4 goals in 9 games at the end of last season, and partly because fans are eager to see the Canucks’ next core out on the ice.
On Thursday night against the Winnipeg Jets, Boeser will get his chance to play, while Alexander Burmistrov is out of the lineup against his former team.
That’s tough news for Burmistrov, who lamented that the Jets didn’t see him as a “score-goal guy” and likely would have embraced a chance to prove them wrong by showing just how much of a score-goal guy he could be. But Burmistrov was the best option to take out of the lineup: Travis Green likes Derek Dorsett as a shutdown winger, Jake Virtanen has impressed in limited minutes, and the Canucks have other forwards who can slot in at centre, like Sam Gagner and Markus Granlund.
Adding Boeser shakes up the lineup, as he’ll rejoin Brock Boeser and Sven Baertschi, moving Loui Eriksson to the third line, likely with Granlund and Virtanen. That leaves Sam Gagner to slide to the fourth line with Dorsett and Brandon Sutter.
Fans obviously expect goals out of the 20-year-old winger, but that’s not what Green focused on when he talked to Boeser.
“We didn’t even actually talk about scoring,” said Boeser. “We just talked about when I go in there, I need to make sure I have that consistent effort and make sure I’m paying attention to those small details.”
Boeser also doesn’t see himself as just a goalscorer, noting, “I like to see the ice too, I’m not just focused on shooting.”
Green agrees. “We hope that he becomes a goalscorer in the NHL,” he said, “but I think he’s capable of doing a lot of things. He’s got good hockey sense, he’s a smart player.”
The reunification of Boeser with Horvat and Baertschi is a welcome sight, a line that many thought should have been together right from the first game. Not only did the line produce points last season, but they were one of the few Canucks combos that kept their heads above water in puck possession, posting a 51.91% corsi at 5-on-5.
Horvat seemed eager to have Boeser back on his wing. “You’ve got to get a guy like that, especially around the net, the puck,” said Horvat. “You saw him in preseason, it’s going to go in the net most of the time if you give it to him.”
With Baertschi and Horvat, Boeser will have an opportunity to create offence at even-strength, and he’ll also replace Sam Gagner on the first power play unit with the Sedins. With his ability to one-time the puck from the left faceoff circle, it opens up new possibilities for that power play unit.
At the end of last season, he sometimes didn’t get the puck in those power play situations, but when asked if he’ll be “beaver-tailing,” clapping his stick on the ice looking for a pass, he laughs.
“I don’t know if I’m going to clap, because I don’t want [the penalty killers] to know I’m over there,” he says. “I’ll rely on [my teammates] seeing me over there.”
Daniel Sedin looks forward to seeing Boeser on the power play, noting his poise with the puck: he didn’t panic and force a play or a shot, but held onto the puck long enough to make the right play. But most of all, he praised that shot:
“Natural. Natural shot. It’s hard, it’s precise. He’s a goalscorer, you can tell. When he gets a chance, he’s putting it where he wants to put it,” he said, though he also noted that what the Canucks need most on the power play is just someone willing to get the puck to the net.
“A lot of times it doesn’t have to be that good of a shot,” he said, “just get pucks to the net, get to rebounds. We have the people there now, it’s just a matter of getting the puck there.”
With Thomas Vanek as a net front presence on the first unit, Daniel is right about having people there to pounce on rebounds. The main criticism of the Sedin power play unit has been the lack of shots; Boeser should remedy that.
Overall, however, fans should temper their expectations. As much as it will be exciting to see Boeser back in the lineup, he is still a rookie. If he scores 20 goals this season, fans should see it as a resounding success, and that’s still just an average of a goal every four games. If he fails to put the puck in the net against the Jets, it’s certainly not the end of the world.
That’s not what the coaching staff will be looking for in any case. It will be the details of his game and the consistency in effort from shift-to-shift that they have their eyes on. That’s less exciting for fans, but essential for Boeser to stay in the lineup and have long-term success.
