We are now in the midst of Vancouver Canucks training camp, with players meeting with the media to address their offseason, how they’re gelling with the new additions, as well as any goals and expectations they have for the upcoming season.

Today, Canucks forward Brock Boeser met with the media to discuss what it’s like getting back out there on the ice with his teammates and how the pace has been through two days of camp:

“It’s been great. Once you skate a few weeks before camp, it gets kind of boring, and the drills get a little old. So it’s nice to get out here, get some system work and just really push each other.”

“It’s been good pace. It’s a little more uptempo today, just working on some different system things. I think it’s always good to get those drills in, get the 5-on-5 play to get the brain working again.”

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Boeser and JT Miller skated on a line together. However, with Pius Suter likely moving to centre to start the season, the looming question remained: Who would play on their left side? Throughout the first two days of training camp, Danton Heinen received that role.

“Yeah, it’s good,” Boeser said when discussing the chemistry thus far with Heinen. “Obviously it’s our second day with him. I’m excited to continue these practices with him and hopefully play that first preseason game with him and see how it goes.”

“I think just making him understand the type of hockey that me and Millsy like to play,” Boeser explained as his values when developing chemistry with a new teammate. “We like to keep it simple. We’re pretty black and white about how we want to play and what we do in the offensive zone. But I think Danton’s a really smart player, I’ve played against him since college so I think his hockey IQ’s there, he works hard and I think he’ll fit in well.”

Entering a contract year, Boeser has a lot to play for. He’s coming off a career year, scoring 40 goals and 33 assists for 73 points in 81 regular season games. How he follows up that career campaign will dictate his next contract, whether that be in Vancouver or elsewhere.

Here’s what Brock had to say regarding his approach to this season and the goals he’s set for himself:

“I think I can have a little bit more consistency throughout the year. I hit a little spot last season where [I] maybe took the foot off the gas a little bit. It’s hard to stay consistent, I think it’s one of the hardest things in this league. It’s a long season and to really have that drive all the time, it’s hard. It’s a learning experience and that’s something I’m going to focus on this year.”

As he reflected on last year’s postseason run, Boeser said:

“I think it’s a team thing. It’s having the faith and belief in our systems and structures and just having that chemistry with my linemates. The playoffs were a blast and it was awesome that we had success. I think it’s only going to help us for this year.”

As many remember, Boeser’s season ended early last year. The 27-year-old winger had to miss Game 7 against the Edmonton Oilers due to a blood clot in his leg. Boeser spoke about how that impacted his summer training.

“I could skate, I could workout, I just couldn’t do contact until the last few weeks in August. That was about it, other than that I could go 100% in pretty much everything. Obviously you want to compete and play 3-on-3 or 5-on-5 in the summer, which kind of sucked. You know, getting that one-on-one work in the corners, I was a little late to that but that’s why we have training camp, you can just work on it now and get better at it.”

With a lot of roster turnover this offseason, Boeser touched on what the new guys are bringing to camp early on.

“I think all the guys are character guys and I think we knew that when they signed here,” Boeser said. “They all compete hard and I think that’s huge for our group. They’re going to bring a lot of energy for us and already out there they’re battling hard, so it’s great to see.”

It was all smiles and laughter at the conclusion of the questioning:

Q: “What did you think of Vinny [Desharnais] dropping the A-bomb on JT [Miller]?”

Boeser: “Haha, that doesn’t surprise me one bit.”

Q: “On which end does it not surprise you?”

Boeser: “Everyone knows.”

The room shared a laugh at Boeser’s jokes.