Vancouver Canucks top forward Brock Boeser wanted nothing to do with hockey this past season. And while it showed on the ice, it was especially made clear when reports emerged closer to the March 3rd deadline that Boeser had hinted at a possible trade out of Vancouver, asking his agent to look for potential suitors across the league.
After his end of season press conference, Boeser opened up to Iain McIntyre of Sportsnet on what happened and how his father’s passing had a huge impact on his mental health and his vision of hockey.
“I’m being pretty open with you right now … it’s not easy to explain this to teammates, especially when they haven’t been through it in life,” Boeser said after publicly rescinding his trade request during Saturday’s year-end press conference. “I don’t want to tell people that I hated the game. I never really, truly hated the game of hockey but … “
He resented it?
“Exactly,” he said. “Yes, exactly.”
Boeser did not share his feelings with anyone, which probably made it harder on the 26-year-old to heal.
“It was a long year; I went through some stuff,” he said. “I’m trying to explain this right. It’s hard for people to understand the aftereffects of what I went through. Unless you really go through this, you can’t understand what it’s like dealing with a (dying) family member. I really blamed hockey for not being home with my dad. That was a big challenge I worked through this year. And with my hand injury, then the trade rumours, and I wasn’t playing good – it just all was a lot.”
While Boeser admitted that at the time he was only seeking a fresh start when asking for a trade, he has since rescinded it since what he was really looking for was closure.
“Just really took a step back and realized this was my dad’s dream and my dream to play in the NHL,” he explained. “Why am I holding it against … why am I angry? I think I just got to a point where I became at peace with it. I’m not going to lie, there were some days that were hard to come to the rink. But the last month, I’ve been excited to come to the rink. I don’t want the season to end. And I’m really excited to start training because I have another level to my game. I haven’t gotten there yet, but I know I can get there and that’s where my head’s at.
“I kept pushing through and I found that fire and drive again. It’s just really exciting to me, just feeling that again.”
Boeser ended the 2022-23 season with 18 goals and 37 assists for 55 points in 74 games. But most importantly, he got the feeling that he wants to be a Canuck and is hoping to grow under head coach Rick Tocchet.
“It’s out of my control, but I do want to play here,” he added. “What we’re building, I think is something legit with this coaching staff, and I want to be part of it.”
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