It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Brock Boeser last season.

Sure, he scored 30 goals for the first time in his career, only to add 10 more to reach the even more respectable tally of 40.

His downright impressive level of regular season play continued into the playoffs, too, where Boeser scored seven goals through 12 playoff games — none bigger than this one, that prevented Nashville from tying the Canucks and Preds’ round one series up at two apiece, eventually setting up the Canucks to take the series in six games.

So it was a good regular season and an equally good playoff run for Brock Boeser.

But as has so often been the case for Boeser, something beyond his control brought his 2023-24 campaign to a screeching halt at perhaps the worst possible time. Ahead of the Canucks’ game seven matchup against the Edmonton Oilers in round two, news broke that Boeser would be missing the pivotal matchup due to a blood clot in his leg. It’s a rare, unusual, and potentially life-threatening injury that thankfully Boeser was always expected to make a full recovery from.

He only missed one game, but in the end, an injury affected Boeser in a season where it finally looked like he’d remain injury-free for the first time in his career. And while the Canucks managed to take the Oilers to seven games with their third-string goaltender in net, they couldn’t get the job done without their leading goal scorer, something Boeser said hurt him to not be able to be a part of.

Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford suggested earlier this offseason that the Canucks would be patient with Boeser, who became eligible to sign an extension on July 1st. Talks were quiet between the two sides this offseason, and that seems just fine with Boeser, who now heads into a contract year with the Canucks.

Speaking at the Canucks’ annual Jake Milford Charity golf tournament on Monday, the American sharpshooter made it clear he’s ready to go out and prove last year’s career year wasn’t a fluke for him or his team.

“Coming off the blood clot, I’ve got a lot to prove just kind of dealing with that little setback. So I’m just focused on having a great camp again like I did last year and trying to have a fast start to season,” Boeser told reporters.

Boeser shared that he “needs to be careful” on flights and will be in close contact with the Canucks’ medical staff, but has been off blood thinners for some time now and is ready to go heading into training camp.

“I was on blood thinners for a few months during the summer. I could still skate and stuff, but I had to be careful contact wise. But I’ve been off them for a little bit now, and I’ve gotten to start doing contact towards the end of summer. Yeah, it’s obviously something that we look back on, and it was tough scenario. But I’m just happy to move forward and really focus on the season.”

Boeser enters 2024-25 — his eighth full season in the NHL — as one of the Canucks’ biggest threats in the top six of a forward group that only got stronger this offseason.

“I think all the guys that we added are guys that are going to make a difference. Just by skating with them, I think the thing that stands out is they all compete hard, they’re all going out there and putting their work boots on, and I think that’s going to be huge for our group. Not saying other guys didn’t, but just kind of rounding out our forward group, and they’re all great guys. I can’t wait to get going.

“It’s a great vibe right now, just starting to meet the new guys and see everyone that’s returning, it’s exciting, and I’m really excited.

“I think we’re gonna have a tremendous team and I think we set that standard and expectation last year and now we have to build off it.”

Canucks training camp gets underway on Thursday, September 19th, and we’ll have you covered with wall-to-wall coverage here at CanucksArmy.