Killing penalties the latest in Brock Boeser’s evolution with Canucks

The longest-tenured Canuck loaded up on a wrist shot from the right-wing circle and unleashed a 40-foot rocket that Calgary Flames goalie Dustin Wolf saw all the way but could not stop before it buried itself in the top corner.

The goal capped Thursdayâ€s 5-1 victory and looked like a lot of the ones Boeser scored from distance two seasons ago when he set his National Hockey League career-high with 40.

It also came in the first game of the seven-year, $50.75-million contract that Boeser signed with the Canucks on July 1 when the 28-year-old Minnesotan made a stunning U-turn at the precipice of free agency.

And it occurred near the end of a game in which Boeser debuted as a Canuck penalty-killer. The wingerâ€s modest 46 seconds of shorthanded time on ice was still 10 seconds more than he logged over 75 games last season.

With Game 2 of his ninth NHL campaign Saturday in Edmonton against the Oilers, Boeser was never really under-appreciated in Vancouver, even if he felt that way at times. He just wasnâ€t valued as much as the small handful of “core†players ahead of him.

Especially since Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson and Thatcher Demko followed him to Vancouver from the entry draft in the two seasons after Boeser was the Calder Trophy runnerup in 2018, the smart and amiable American has been regarded, more or less, as a good complementary piece in Vancouver.

But with J.T. Miller traded and the Canucks and their leadership being recast by open-minded new head coach Adam Foote, it feels like Boeser suddenly has a chance to be more.

“I mean, it’s different,†Boeser said Friday of his role. “Iâ€m a guy that obviously needs to score goals, and that’s a different role compared to a guy that drives play. I know that’s my role. But getting an opportunity to PK, I feel like it gives me confidence to grow my game in different areas. That gives you confidence as a player to go out there and have a good kill or block a shot, (have) a big moment for the team.

“I’m not even worried about (how many goals he scores). I feel like my mindset is just to the point of, like, getting off to a good start and winning hockey games. The goals will come; they always do. But when you get fixated too much on it, you’re not playing for the team. I feel like our whole team is in such good headspace about competing hard. I keep saying I feel like weâ€ve bought in. . . so I’m trying not to get too excited but, you know, I’m liking what we’re doing.â€

Amid all the upheaval around the Canucks last season, Boeserâ€s year was hardly a disaster. He finished with 25 goals and 50 points — close to average (unadjusted for injuries) over his time in Vancouver.

But following his 40-goal breakthrough in 2023-24, Boeser was off to another excellent start a year ago with six goals and 11 points in 11 games before he was concussed by Tanner Jeannotâ€s gratuitous head shot in Los Angeles on Nov. 7.

By the time Boeser returned after missing seven games, long-time linemate Miller was on a personal leave of absence, a precursor to the core playerâ€s trade to the New York Rangers in January. 

Boeser never did regain and maintain his A-game as Vancouver missed the playoffs.

In his early years, Boeser returned from the off-season and, pressed by reporters, would talk about trying to score 30 goals — or at least more than he did the previous season. Now, he talks only about helping the team win. This, too, is a sign of his evolution.

“The vibes are good right now, but I think we’re going to get tested when we hit adversity,†he said. “But whatever happens, I think we’re capable of more than what we did last year. We were still right there at the playoff line (with 90 points), but I know we can be better than that. I think things have been going well. We tweaked some stuff in our structure, and I think we’ve been doing a better job with that, so I’m really excited.

“We all know we can make the playoffs. It’s just a matter of buying in and competing. I think those are the main two things: we buy into our structure and compete hard.â€

Boeser was among the many senior Canucks contacted regularly by Foote over the summer. On one of the phone calls, Foote told Boeser than heâ€d like to have him kill penalties.

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The best penalty-killing team in the league over the final four months of last season, the Canucks lost first-unit player Pius Suter to free agency. Suterâ€s regular shorthanded partner, centre Teddy Blueger, is out day to day with a knee injury.

So, the Canucks are being forced to use other forwards on their PK. Eight of Footeâ€s 12 forwards on Thursday got at least one shorthanded shift, although the coach hinted he may be choosier against the Connor McDavid-Leon Draisaitl Oilers power play.

Is Boeser on the PK going to be a thing?

“I want him to be,†Foote said before Fridayâ€s flight to Edmonton. “He’s smart. He’s going to. . . get out there and get the reps. You know, you can draw it up, but until you get out there and see it. . . (but) yeah, I think he’ll be a good killer. But we have to manage him too, right? Weâ€ve got to manage that ice (time) as well.â€

Boeserâ€s 17:12 of ice time against Calgary was third among Vancouver forwards. He hasnâ€t been a penalty-killing regular since he left the University of North Dakota to come straight to the Canucks in 2017.

“The first time I went out in pre-season (to kill a penalty), I was trying to think, like, what are the routes and lanes?†Boeser said. “But now I feel like I understand it pretty well. I really haven’t gotten — knock on wood — stuck in our zone. 

“This is something that I’ve never gotten a chance to do (in the NHL), but I think I’m a smart hockey player and have a high hockey IQ where I can make good reads.â€

With the security of his first long-term contract, Boeser isnâ€t starting a season feeling pressured to put up numbers to prove his worth.

“You know, it’s so nice,†he said. “I’m just going out there working as hard as I can, and I’m not worried about having to produce. My main goal is to go out there and do anything I can to win, whether it’s blocking a shot or, I don’t know, trying to shut down McDavid.â€

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