Vancouver Canucks’ forward Brock Boeser joins Canucks Insider Podcast host Chris Faber to discuss his seven-year contract with the club.
Boeser has spent his entire nine-year NHL career with the Canucks and is thrilled to be staying with the club.
"Just looking at the team we have and the pieces that we have locked up, I think that's really important.” Boeser said. “Looking at the goalies, D, some of the forwards we have locked up, I really like our pieces, and I think we're going to be competitive. I really have a strong belief in this team; that's a big reason why I wanted to come back.”
His girlfriend was with him when he got the news, and one of his first calls out was to his mom.
“She's super excited, and she just wanted me to be happy. I think that's the place where I'm going to be the most happy. I just think it was meant to be,” Boeser said.
Boeser talked about the uncertainty of getting a deal done with Vancouver, and when it looked like it might not be possible, it was hard to imagine coming back to Rogers Arena in a different uniform. The support from the fans has always meant a lot to him.
“I did run through the scenarios in my head of different jerseys coming back into the building and not being on the right side of the hallway and being on the other side. It was feeling weird,” Boeser said. “Everyone's a big reason why I wanted to come back, a support system and everyone having my back out there. I went through some tough times up and down years, and everyone still has faith in me and believes in me.”
Boeser was in contact with Canucks Head Coach Adam Foote throughout the offseason, and Foote is a big reason Boeser wanted to stay.
“He really expressed that he would like me back and that means a lot to me to have a relationship like that, where we can talk. We can talk things out about what we thought wasn't good last year, and what needs to be better, and his ideas. I think that's great – open communication – and understanding each guy and how they tick; I think that's really important.”
“He called me after [I signed the contract], fired up,” Boeser said.
Boeser feels the goaltending tandem of Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen in the best in the league and the d-core has a lot of great depth and leadership. He talked about the understanding from the forward group that they need to elevate their game next season and they’re ready for the challenge.
As part of the leadership group, he takes responsibility for helping hold himself and his teammates accountable, starting with training camp.
“I think it's really important identifying the culture that we want. I feel like we did identify that two years ago, on the type of team that we want to be, and I think we kind of lost it for a little bit last year. So, I think getting back to that. As a leadership group, just making sure we're all committed to that and committing to holding each other accountable and pushing our group as hard as we can be the best," he said.
“We’ve got to understand that we're not far off. We're right there. Like I talked about in the media session, if we come together and, we're a tight-knit group, and we play for each other each and every night, we're going to make the playoffs.”
He talks about his friendships on the team, growing up with Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson, and his phone chats with Conor Garland leading up to free agency.
“Gar was calling me a lot, and he was getting all over me to get back. There were times I was like, ‘Dude, I don't think it's going to happen.’ We tried, and both sides have tried, and then the door felt shut, but, then there's a little crack at the end, and we made something work,” he said.
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