Brock Boeser’s made it to 500 NHL games; he’s more than just a goal scorer though.
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Brock Boeser has hit a half-millennium.
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When he was drafted 23rd overall in 2015, Jim Benning highlighted all the offensive strengths the then-North Dakota winger had.
“He’s not afraid to go to the net. He has a high-end release on his shot,” the former Canucks GM said at the time.
Boeser has proven to be an adept NHL scorer. Last season, he finally put it all together and took the big step forward that he had always hoped to take, scoring 40 goals. He is in a contract year this season and he’s on a similar scoring pace. That’s good news for Boeser.
But he has become much more than a quality goal scorer.
He is the 27th to play his 500th NHL game while wearing a Canucks jersey.
Tyler Myers has been Boeser’s teammate for five years and glowed when asked about his friend’s achievement.
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“To see him grow as a player, and to see the adversity he’s come through on and off the ice, it’s awesome to see,” Myers said. “It shows what kind of character guy he is. He’s an awesome guy to have in the room. He’s really stepping up as a leader as well. He’s got a bigger voice in the room the last couple years.”
Let’s dive into the numbers.
The goals are why he’s here. He’s scored 186 in 499 career games. That is a goal every three games. In truth, that’s a 30-goal per season average.
But the 30 goal barrier eluded him until last season, despite his best hopes. Injury has always intervened. In his rookie campaign, he had 29 goals, then an unfortunate collision with an open bench door ended his season early.
The next season, he had 26 goals in 69 games, but struggled with a groin injury in the early going that limited his mobility, and then he sat out a while getting healthy.
COVID ended the next season early, although he also wasn’t scoring at his usual clip that season.
He was the Canucks’ leading scorer in the otherwise COVID-shortened 2020-21 season and was on a 30-goal pace. Too bad the season was just 56 games long.
The 2021-22 season was a bizarre campaign. He had four goals in the first nine games, but then the whole team stopped putting up points. Boeser went a month without scoring — his goal on Dec. 6, breaking the long slump, was scored in Bruce Boudreau’s first game in charge. His second half was fine enough, but he missed 11 games between injuries and a bout with Omicron, and scored just 23 times. That’s also the season when his dad’s health finally failed. The emotional burden was immense.
The next season was the true nadir, though. He didn’t score his first goal until Nov. 18, a brutal start to the year, and he was going to be a scratch on Hockey Fights Cancer night but then wasn’t. Things were going so badly he was ready to be traded elsewhere. He found his way in the second half and was the team’s Masterton Trophy nominee, as put forward by the local chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. (Yours truly is chapter president.) He was still processing his father’s death, he acknowledged post-season.
Which brings us to last season’s triumph. He changed how he prepared himself for the season. There’s a new jump in his step. And he and J.T. Miller finally meshed as a pairing.
Congrats Brock Boeser playing 500th #NHL game tonight all with Vancouver @Canucks who drafted him in the 1st round 2015. Brock has 186🚀 + 216🍎 = 402 pts in 499 @NHL games. Only 27yrs old many more to come! @hockey_db 👇 pic.twitter.com/if71Vt4ekQ
The rate of goals generated off high-danger chances, according to Natural Stat Trick, is at a career low for Boeser. The opposition is scoring less than a goal per game from in tight at five-on-five when he’s on the ice. That’s outstanding.
Only Jake DeBrusk, Elias Pettersson and Conor Garland have better rates — and they are all well-known strong defensive players. For Boeser to be in their company so far this season speaks volumes about where the action is happening when he’s on the ice.
Coach Rick Tocchet made note of how last season, he made of point of getting Boeser out on the ice in tough defensive situations, such as when the other team has pulled their goalie. Tocchet had faith in the winger, that he’d get the job done. Boeser did, and then some, picking up a handful of empty-net goals.
“I don’t know in the past if coaches put him out there with an empty net or not, probably not. But I think trying to give him confidence to play good defence has really helped him,” Tocchet said.
Going into Thursday’s game, Boeser had played 101 games since the start of the 2023-24 season. He’s scored 47 goals in that stretch.
That’s one more than Connor McDavid. McDavid also went into Thursday’s action having skated in 101 regular season games since the beginning of last season, but has managed “just” 46 goals in that span.
Boeser is known for his wrist shot, but it’s his work around the net that deserves more attention.
Since the start of last season, he’s scored the third-most goals by tipping point shots in the NHL. He’s also tied for fourth in the league in backhand goals, which tend to be off rebounds.
He’s an elite finisher in tight.
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