“I asked if I could play and tried to push them, but the risks were too great. I had to protect my future” — Brock Boeser
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Brock Boeser believes he could have made the difference when it mattered most in a one-goal game Monday at Rogers Arena.
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Of course he did.
THE Vancouver Canucks The right winger lit up the Edmonton Oilers This NHL season, the Canucks scored four goals in the opening game, and could have played a decisive role in Game 7 of a sensational second-round final. The Canucks rallied and nearly forced overtime in a 3-2 loss that ended the season.
Even more devastating was the blood clotting issue that kept Boeser out of the series and out of the series. After all, he scored a career-high 40 goals in his redemption season. He also became reliable without the puck and excelled on defense in the regular season and playoffs.
“I’m devastated,” Boeser said Thursday during his graduation speech. “I wish I could have been on the field with the guys. In a one-goal game. I’m sitting there and thinking, ‘I could have scored.’ You don’t know what would have happened if I had played.”
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“I would have done anything to be there. I asked if I could play and I tried to push them, but the risks were too great. I had to protect my future and I don’t want to have health problems in the future.”
Boeser also led the Canucks with seven playoff goals and tied for the team lead with a dozen points. He was also a presence in net with a deft touch for deflections and tip-ins.
Imagine all that in Game 7?
“Of course I felt like I could have made a difference,” Boeser said. “It just showed that there was another level and my line was very proud to play against Connor (McDavid) and against the top lines all season long.
“It’s a role I’ve never had before and I tried to take it on. It gave me a lot of confidence.”
The aftermath of what happened to the unfortunate Boeser was a source of worry that turned into a blow. He had more than his share of injuries to his back, groin, wrist and hand, but the timing was excruciating.
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“I took a chance in the first game on the power play and I got a bruise, but my leg was fine,” Boeser said. “A week later, it started to hurt really bad, so we had it looked at. I had a clot in one of my little veins, and it was no problem, so I was allowed to keep playing.”
“And then we had another scan after Game 5 and the next morning after Game 6. It showed that there were more clots moving around in my deep vein. I didn’t expect that. I didn’t really understand it and it was an emotional moment for me after giving it my all and really fighting and pushing for the ultimate goal.
“Getting swept out the door and not being on the field for Game 7 with those guys hurt.”
Boeser is taking blood thinners and will be able to train this summer.
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“I have to be careful if I cut myself or hit my head,” Boeser said. “I can train and skate with precautions.”
Repeating his sensational season won’t be easy, as the Canucks went from being the hunters to the hunted after racking up 109 points and winning the Pacific Division.
And this season taught him that the encouragement to bring his fitness to an elite level last summer was going to pay off.
“They (the Canucks) asked me to switch and knew a guy from Minnesota who was an NHL coach and I felt comfortable,” Boeser recalled. “More field. We did hill days for most of August.
“A lot of sprinting and agility, I feel stronger and faster. I move better.”
So, no more casual Da Beauty League tournaments in July, back home in his native Minnesota. It was fun, but not productive. Boeser knew it was time to get his fitness back to where it needed to be.
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He learned it. He lived it.
“You just have to have the same mindset,” he said of offseason preparation for next season. “You have to feel that hunger and that motivation and that starts in the summer.
“It takes a lot of work and focus. Personally, I don’t think I was very good in the second half of the year. That’s the next step for me. To be more consistent.
“There are definitely ways to take care of your body and make sure you don’t get tired. I’m really excited to get a taste of these guys in the playoffs.
“We were there, we were so close and that will continue to push me.”
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