Brock Boeser has a ceiling he hasn’t even begun to test yet, according to Todd Bertuzzi who appeared on the Starting Lineup Tuesday with Sportsnet 650.
“What if this Brock is actually a player like Auston Matthews? What if he’s a player like Patrik Laine? What if he’s a player like Dylan Larkin? What if he’s that good that he is capable of playing a lot more and putting the team on his shoulders?”
Boeser was a healthy scratch for the first two games of the Canucks’ season, but since getting called up, the winger has steadily seen more minutes and scored his first NHL hat trick in a 4-2 win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins on Saturday.
In that win, Bertuzzi described the 20-year-old as “dynamic” and said he could be included in a larger conversation about the league’s young stars. The advantage in Boeser’s corner is a player’s coach in Travis Green, who can oversee his development.
“The part everyone has got to realize is he’s got a very, very good coach who knows how to handle that type of player, knows how to keep him grounded, knows how to motivate him.
“What if this guy is actually one of those kind players?” asked the former Canuck, “And if he is one of those kinds of players, you have to let him loose.”
Boeser leads the Canucks with 13 points. He was five goals.
[relatedlinks]