VANCOUVER – After Brock Boeser changed his stick about as many times as Coke changed his recipe or Canada changed his anthem – every time in our lives – he put down the blade he’d used since Peewee Hockey and tried it on Tuesday with Auston Matthews racket.
When the National Hockey League closed in March, Boeser had played 12 goals without a goal for the Vancouver Canucks, which was by far the longest slump in his three-year career. Matthews scored 47 goals in 70 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season.
So, sure, change poles. Worth a try.
“I never like to change my clothes, especially when I have been successful,” said Boeser after training in the training camp at Rogers Arena on Tuesday. “I only really played with my Flex once – never in my career, actually. I just tried it out today: 85 Flex with a slightly larger curve. It felt pretty good so I’ll give it a few more days and see if it leads anywhere.
“I’ve had the same curve since Peewees. I’m pretty sure it’s Auston Matthews’ curve, right, P90. “
Since reporters are hardly allowed into the arena and anywhere near the ice or stick room, we cannot check whether Boeser’s blade is identical to Matthews’ branch. But the Canuck launched a series of missiles while it was training.
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Boeser has always been a goal scorer. He had 27 goals in 42 games while leading the University of North Dakota to a national championship in 2016, scoring one year later on his NHL debut with the Canucks, and scoring 55 goals in 131 games in his first two seasons in Vancouver .
Some significant injuries that affected his off-season training seemed to speed Boeser’s shot a bit this season when the 23-year-old from Minnesota scored only 16 goals in 57 games.
He spent the four-month NHL shutdown working on his shot and cardio, and Boeser was probably the best striker in the Vancouver summer camp as the Canucks prepared for their Stanley Cup qualifying series against the Minnesota Wild.
“I feel really good,” Boeser told reporters on a zoom call. “I told you when we talked (in spring) that I would return on a mission. I really worked when I was at home. I’m really noticing the difference right now. I feel better, I feel safe out there. Hopefully I can continue that and take it against the wild. “
Boeser’s sharpness with the puck and improved speed were noticed.
“I know that he feels good with his body and condition, which is so important when you come to such a camp,” said trainer Travis Green. “Brock, he looks better. You want to see that. You want to see how your young people come back and become better hockey players. “
Like all players, Boeser had to change his training routine while isolating himself in his lake house south of Minneapolis.
“I drove a lot of peloton, a lot of roller blade rides, just other workouts at home,” said Boeser. “I don’t know if it was the peloton or what it was, but I feel faster out there. I feel stronger. As I said, it’s the best thing I’ve felt in a long time. “
Hint for yourself: buy Peloton shares.
GREEN MOVEMENT
Green optimized some of his striker lines in the first week of the camp, but reinvented them on Tuesday and dissolved his strong top six to make the Canucks look more like a three-line team.
The first-line wingers JT Miller and Tyler Toffoli were moved to the second center Adam Gaudette, while the first-line center Elias Pettersson inherited the second-line wingers Boeser and Tanner Pearson. Bo Horvat ran in both directions with the wingers Antoine Roussel and Zack MacEwen, who had played with Gaudette on the most impressive line last weekend. The fourth line was Jay Beagle between Tyler Motte and Micheal Ferland.
“I just wanted to make a change today (and) shake it up a bit,” said Green. “It’s not often that you have a training camp with three weeks of the same line combination. I wanted to look at a few different things and that’s why we did it today. “
Miller-Pettersson, partner of Boeser, until Toffoli was taken over by the Los Angeles Kings in February, was one of the best combos of the NHL this season. So don’t expect them to be separated for a long time. However, Green could choose to play them with Boeser and drop Toffoli in line with Horvat and Pearson, the former king.
WHERE DO YOU JAKE
As interesting as the changes in the first four lines was that Jake Virtanen, the 18-goal scorer, skated again in the fifth line – and Roussel had the power play time ahead of him in the second unit.
After a bad evening game on Thursday, Virtanen was downgraded by Green and has obviously not impressed the coach since then.
What makes things challenging for Virtanen who has to secure a place in the bottom six is how good the Roussel-Gaudette-MacEwen line looked like and that Green has to stack the fourth line with people who kill punishments, which Virtanen do does not.
The 23-year-old winger is one of the few Canucks that have not yet been made available to the media on Zoom.
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY
A couple of Canucks were asked on Tuesday what they were saying on the ice without fans in the building. The NHL has asked for a delay in the broadcasts so that the potty language does not run over radio waves.
For example, during Thursday’s fight, reporters heard – and as you know – that Horvat dropped a few F-bombs while insulting Virtanen at assaulting a teammate.
“I think you should always be careful what you say personally, even when there are fans in the crowd,” said Boeser. “I think it’s kind of the player.”
DRESSES MAKE PEOPLE
With the dress code for suit and tie, which the NHL has canceled for the summer playoffs, Pettersson hopes that Canucks players can show an individual style when they walk from the hotel to the ice rink in the Edmonton bubble.
“I hope it’s something like the NBA and I can show off all my clothes,” said Pettersson, known for his fashion style, which includes checking the gap between his shoes and cuffs, about clothing optional. “I like to show my personality and my style of clothing. But I think we want to have a tracksuit. “
Tracksuits? How exciting.
