The Vancouver Canucks host the Boston Bruins Saturday night and two of the most important players in the game will be standout rookies Brock Boeser and Charlie McAvoy.
Boeser’s 49 points in 54 games leads the Canucks and his 27 goals ranks most among all rookies, while McAvoy has also worked his way into the Calder Trophy discussion thanks to his work on the Bruins’ blue line.
McAvoy spoke with Sportsnet 650 Friday and said he has noticed what his fellow American has been doing this season.
“How could you not see what he’s doing? He’s having a heck of year for himself,” McAvoy told Joey Kenward at Rogers Arena. “Very well deserved. Can’t say I’m too surprised. He’s got such an ability to shoot the puck and put himself in positions to score goals. He’s been doing that since I heard of him when we were 14, 15 I think is when we met, maybe 16 with those USA Hockey development camps and he stood out like a sore thumb. He’s been good for a long time and rightfully so. He works very hard. He’s got a good work ethic, so he’s doing great. I’m very happy for him.”
McAvoy and Boeser won a bronze medal together on Team USA at the 2016 world juniors. McAvoy added that he’s looking forward to catching up with his old pal while he’s on his first Western Canadian road trip.
“I’ll wish him the best, but once we square off tomorrow we’ll both be competing as hard as we can for our teams.”
