Snap Shots: Brock Boeser Forever Changed the Canucks

The day was March 23rd, 2017. Brock Boeser was set to make his NHL debut for the Vancouver Canucks against his home state team, the Minnesota Wild. Boeser’s debut was a night to remember for Canucks fans, and no, it wasn’t due to a two-goal performance from Reid Boucher. Boeser immediately showed off the shot that scouts had been raving about just 28 minutes and nine seconds into his NHL debut.

That night, Boeser sent Tofino-storm-season-sized waves through the Canucks fanbase. Adding Boeser had an immediate impact on a roster that had become so stagnant the coach was doling out significant ice time to Michael Chaput.

Just look at this roster and think about how good things are now…

Long before Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes were dazzling observers with their dekes, Brock Boeser was giving casual fans a reason to care about the team again. Brock would go on to become an NHL all-star in his rookie season, even taking home MVP honours. Boeser would go on to have a tremendous rookie season that saw him score 29 goals in just 62 games.

Things began to change on March 23rd, 2017; and the team was exciting again. Seeing Brock Boeser unleash his deadly shot from the left side on the powerplay with the help of the Sedin twins moving the puck around during their final season was a sight to behold.

There was finally a feeling of a hope in Vancouver when you talked about the hockey team and Brock Boeser was ready to be our knight in scoring armour. Unfortunately, he was sidelined with a horrendous injury after being hit into an open door on the bench by Cal Clutterbuck, effectively ending his rookie season. Boeser would also struggle to stay healthy in his sophomore season, missing 13 games while also reportedly having a banged up wrist for a majority of the 2018-19 campaign.

Boeser’s sophomore year was also Elias Pettersson’s rookie season. Pettersson would go on to have the most prolific scoring season of any Canucks rookie. Pettersson did it all. H scored, he deked, and he passed with precision. Pettersson arguably became the face of the franchise within his first 10 games.

Brock Boeser was the golden boy, the powerplay ran through his electric shot and he stole the hearts of so many in his rookie season. Brock gained a lot of respect throughout the league that season but also became a fan favourite  due to his actions on and off the ice.

Brock finally gave long-suffering fans a reason to believe there was light at the end of the tunnel. The player that was drafted 23rd overall in 2015 is now part of one of the best scoring duos in the NHL. The combination of Boeser and Pettersson will be a deadly duo for years to come on the power play and as they continue to generate chemistry with Quinn Hughes and add more fluidity to the power play, the team should expect to be among the NHL’s offensive elite in the near future.