They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and that certainly seems to be the case with Brock Boeser and the Canucks.
Boeser鈥檚 absence from training camp and the first few games of the preseason was tangible, particularly on Tuesday night. Elias Pettersson lined up with free agent signing Micheal Ferland on his left wing, but, instead of Boeser, he had Utica Comets star Reid Boucher on his right wing. That鈥檚 no slight to Boucher, who set a new Comets record for goals last season, but he鈥檚 no Brock Boeser.
For the Canucks to have any hope of making the playoffs this season, they need their star winger in the lineup right from puck-drop on opening night, so it was great to see him hit the ice for practice on Wednesday. For the players, however, it was just as nice to be reunited with a friend.
鈥淚t was great to see him,鈥� said Bo Horvat. 鈥淚t was a long summer without see in him. It鈥檚 great to see him walk in the room, he had a big smile on his face.鈥�
The Canucks鈥� marketing team caught the moment when Horvat and Boeser were reunited and it was a great moment. Boeser and Horvat embraced in a heartfelt hug before doing a little catching up. The best moment is when Boeser says he weighs 203 lbs, a little under the 208 lbs he was listed at last season.
鈥淩eally?鈥� said Horvat, before coining a new, if long-winded nickname: 鈥淟ean, mean, Petey winger machine.鈥�
. touched down in 麻豆传媒映画late Tuesday and was reunited with this morning.
鈥� 麻豆传媒映画Canucks (@Canucks)
If Boeser is a little leaner, that should be a good thing. One of the theories behind his somewhat slow start last season was that he gained a little too much weight over the previous off-season, making him a step slower on the ice, even if he was stronger in puck battles. Dropping five pounds to a lean and mean 203 sounds like a big positive.
One key for Boeser is that he was able to spend the whole summer training instead of rehabbing an injury. At the end of last season, Boeser talked about taking a 鈥渉uge step鈥� with an injury-free training regimen.
鈥淟ast summer, obviously, I didn鈥檛 skate until after July 4th, and that鈥檚 a long time,鈥� said Boeser. 鈥淭his year, I got to skate at the start of June, so that makes a huge difference.鈥�
Boeser also let Horvat know that he owed him a wedding present and points out that he also waited until he was back in 麻豆传媒映画to give Sven Baertschi a wedding present last year.
鈥淭he guy unfortunately had to go to one of his buddies鈥� wedding, so he couldn鈥檛 make mine, and it just shows where our friendship鈥檚 at,鈥� said Horvat, then couldn鈥檛 keep a straight face and laughed. 鈥淗e felt bad, it was one of his long-time friends, but he said he鈥檚 gonna give me a wedding present.鈥�
鈥淗e should have sent me the wedding present before he signed his deal,鈥� he added with a laugh, 鈥渂ecause I鈥檓 expecting something real big now.鈥�
Friendships forged in these types of lighthearted moments get refined in times of trial. Last season, Baertschi talked about the support he received from his teammates as he was struggling through the dark days of post-concussion syndrome.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e the best teammates, man,鈥� said Baertschi. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e been unbelievable through this whole process, checking in on me every day and even when the boys were on the road, I got messages from them, guys just checking in every single day, and I never got tired of it. I was just so excited that the guys cared so much.鈥�
Similarly, Boeser鈥檚 teammates were there for him when he was at home with his ailing father, Duke Boeser, who spent weeks in intensive care after a stroke triggered heart failure. With his father still recovering, Boeser treasured the time at home granted by his drawn-out contract negotiations.
鈥淓ven just spending that extra week, you know. He just started eating this past week and became really alert,鈥� said Boeser. 鈥淭hat meant a lot to me to be there. And that鈥檚 kind of what kept me sane and going through this whole process, just being able to go see him each and every day and be there to support him.
鈥淪eeing him these last couple days, it really let me relax a bit to see how well he鈥檚 doing, and how well he鈥檚 coming along.鈥�
Boeser was emotional talking about his father, visibly shuddering at one point with tears welling up in his eyes. The support he got from his teammates, whether it was text messages, FaceTime, or even , made a big difference.
鈥淚t just shows the type of guys that are in this locker room,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 got any D-bags or anyone like that. They鈥檙e all super-supportive. A lot of guys reached out with the stuff with my dad and even when we went through the contract stuff, to just check in and see how I鈥檓 doing鈥� It goes a long way when they do that.鈥�
The players hope that the friendships and support in the room will translate out on the ice as well as they pursue their goal of making the playoffs this season.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all friends here,鈥� said Horvat. 鈥淲e all want to see each other succeed and we鈥檙e all here for each other. I think you have to have that if you want to have a successful team. I think we have that in this room, we have a real tight-knit group, and I think that鈥檚 why, hopefully, we can have a lot of success here in the future.鈥�
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