The NHL All-Star Game rosters were released on Wednesday and, to the surprise of literally no one, Brock Boeser was chosen as the representative for the Canucks.
Every team is represented at the All-Star Game, so even the worst teams in the league will have a player on the All-Star roster (Jack Eichel for the Sabres and Oliver Ekman-Larsson for the Coyotes). That aside, Boeser earned his spot on the Pacific Division roster.
Boeser is not only leading the Canucks in scoring, he’s leading all rookies in scoring with 22 goals and 40 points in 40 games. That places him in the top-25 in the NHL in points and top-5 in goals. This season, Boeser belongs with the best of the best.
I’m not sure that anyone saw a season this good coming. Even the most optimistic soothsayers couldn’t predict a 40-goal, point-per-game pace for Boeser in his rookie year.
Judd Brackett, the Canucks’ director of amateur scouting, isn’t entirely surprised, however. Brackett was a Canucks scout in the US and was part of the team of Canucks scouts that identified Boeser as a player worth drafting and what he sees from him now is what he saw in him then.
“It’s certainly not completely unexpected,” said Brackett. “We really identified him going as far back as seeing him at the [Ivan] Hlinka and then seeing him in Waterloo. It was his ability to do a lot of what he’s doing now.”
“He’s always had NHL attributes, going back to Minnesota, in the USHL, those clearly defined abilities,” he continued. “Nobody could get the puck off his stick. He would do it in traffic, keep it away from others and protect it. He scored there, scored regularly, showed the stick that you see now, the release.”
“Going from Minnesota High School to USHL, from USHL to North Dakota, North Dakota to Vancouver, he picks it up.”
Boeser’s talent level was always apparent, but what other teams must have missed, considering Boeser went 23rd overall in the 2015 draft, was his constant drive to improve. We’ve seen that improvement even within this season.
I spoke to John Shorthouse, the play-by-play voice for the Canucks, for the PITB Podcast (going live tomorrow morning!) and he marveled at Boeser’s ability to get better.
“We’re seeing him transform, even in the space of 40 games,” said Shorthouse. “His game is evolving before our eyes. I just think of the last week...we’re seeing Brock Boeser become even more of an all-around offensive player.”
“We’re seeing Brock Boeser learn to hold onto the puck an extra second when it’s not an opportunity to shoot — because when he has a chance to shoot, he doesn’t hold onto it too long, I think we can all agree on that — but he’s realized if he hangs onto it, he’s already established himself in this short period as a guy that players are going to back off of, and all of a sudden he’s finding room and making plays.”
The respect that the opposition give Boeser is readily apparent on the power play, as penalty killers shade to his side of the ice, doing their best to cut off his passing and shooting lanes. We saw a perfect illustration against the Capitals on the 5-on-3: Jay Beagle completely gave up the shooting lane to prevent a pass to Boeser, giving Edler all the room he needed to send the puck to Daniel Sedin in front for the tip-in goal.
On another occasion, three Capitals immediately lined up to block a shot as soon as Boeser got the puck. It was almost comical how much respect they gave him and his shot.
Perhaps it's because of how much their coach hyped up Boeser's shot. "I mean, it’s a bullet and it’s very accurate, and he’s been dangerous," said Barry Trotz.
Capitals winger and fellow North Dakota alum was prolific with his praise for Boeser.
"The thing that surprised me most was the jump in his skate, how quick he was from a standstill,” said Oshie. “And also his shot. He doesn’t have the biggest curve, but the way he’s able to release the puck is really quick, really hard. He shoots it very flat, which can kind of squeak into some more holes than when the puck is fluttering a little bit."
With the All-Star Game selection, the entire NHL is showing their respect for what Boeser has accomplished halfway through his rookie season. Notably, he’ll be the only rookie on hand, with the likes of Matt Barzal and Charlie McAvoy staying home (or flying to the Bahamas to sit on a beach or something).
All that’s left is speculation about what parts of the skills competition he’ll participate in. Veterans often get the nod over youth in the skills competition, but you have to think Boeser will be in the accuracy shooting competition. I wouldn’t mind seeing him in the hardest shot competition as well, but that is normally dominated by defencemen.
