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Boeser playing scared?


Makaramel MacKhiato

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Obviously it's only the 2nd game, but even watching in Preseason, it seems that something is slightly off with Boeser. 

This article focuses on many things, but one of the things is a comparative between Boeser and Hamhuis, and that Boeser is likely playing scared after is traumatizing injury last season: https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/harrison-mooney-brock-boeser-looks-tentative-a-lot-riding-on-elias-pettersson

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A theory on Brock Boeser’s slow start to the season: He’s scared.

Watching the Vancouver Canucks’ winger through the NHL preseason, I kept thinking about former Canuck Dan Hamhuis, who tore his abdomen and groin laying an ill-fated hip-check on then-Bruins agitator Milan Lucic during the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.

Hamhuis left the game immediately, and that aspect of Hamhuis’s game left just as swiftly: he later admitted the injury made him “tentative for a year or two,” but I’d suggest it goes beyond that. I haven’t seen him throw a highlight-reel hip-check since.
 

Like Hamhuis, Boeser initiated the contact on that collision, and immediately regretted it. Clutterbuck, who at one time held the NHL record for hits in a season, ran right through him, sending Boeser flying backwards through the air.

Boeser landed on the edge of the open gate at the Canucks’ bench, fracturing the transverse process in his lower back.

Later in the summer, Boeser admitted the incident scared the hell out of him.

“At first, I couldn’t really move my left leg,” he said. “So I was laying there on the ice and just didn’t move because I didn’t know what I hurt (…) And then I started to get a little panicky there laying on my stomach so I had to flip over.

“I didn’t know I was hurt but I had to flip over to my back or else I was going to have a panic attack. I was laying there and it just continued to hurt. It was the worst pain probably I’ve ever had.”

This isn’t just a hockey player talking injury — this is a 21-year-old kid describing a traumatic experience. So it’s no surprise that Boeser overcompensated a bit in the summer, adding an absurd 10 pounds of bulk like Charles Atlas after a bully kicked sand in his face.

Furthermore, it’s understandable to see Boeser look a little tentative to start his sophomore season. Some have suggested he’s struggling to adjust to all that new muscle. I think he’s still just a little afraid to use it.

It does seem like he isn't getting his hands dirty as much as last year. Even the final 2 goals for the Flames were because Boeser lost a puck battle. 

Do you think he's playing scared? If so, how long do you think it'll last?

edit: for the record I don't think he's playing scared, I think teams are just focused in on him more, especially with the Sedin's gone. They're limiting his shots drastically. But eyes on Brock leads to the eyes being of Pettersson. 

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9 minutes ago, Top Sven Baercheese said:

Edit: for the record I don't think he's playing scared, I think teams are just focused in on him more, especially with the Sedin's gone. They're limiting his shots drastically. But eyes on Brock leads to the eyes being of Pettersson. 

Good to have a 1,2 punch. Teams are going to start focusing on petterssons line and boeser will light them up. It's going to be a pick your poison conundrum.

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12 minutes ago, Top Sven Baercheese said:

Obviously it's only the 2nd game, but even watching in Preseason, it seems that something is slightly off with Boeser. 

This article focuses on many things, but one of the things is a comparative between Boeser and Hamhuis, and that Boeser is likely playing scared after is traumatizing injury last season: https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/harrison-mooney-brock-boeser-looks-tentative-a-lot-riding-on-elias-pettersson

It does seem like he isn't getting his hands dirty as much as last year. Even the final 2 goals for the Flames were because Boeser lost a puck battle. 

Do you think he's playing scared? If so, how long do you think it'll last?

edit: for the record I don't think he's playing scared, I think teams are just focused in on him more, especially with the Sedin's gone. They're limiting his shots drastically. But eyes on Brock leads to the eyes being of Pettersson. 

Who is the friggin’ moron that wrote this piece of Troll craparolla?  Boeser is a hyper competitive athlete.  He’s not like us.  The reporter (moron) is scared.  

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No. He spent most of the summer recovering from a broken back. He didn't have his usual training his usual routines, everything he did was different. Is he scared? Doubtful. The closest thing he had to this pace of hockey was Da Beauty League. Give him time. He'll get back to where he was and even better. 

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1 minute ago, Jaku said:

No. He spent most of the summer recovering from a broken back. He didn't have his usual training his usual routines, everything he did was different. Is he scared? Doubtful. The closest thing he had to this pace of hockey was Da Beauty League. Give him time. He'll get back to where he was and even better. 

Yet he added 10 lbs of muscle. Pretty impressive with a 'broken back'.

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7 minutes ago, Baggins said:

Yet he added 10 lbs of muscle. Pretty impressive with a 'broken back'.

Two parts to that. Number one,in all training routines you avoid engaging your back. Two,excercises involving the back would not be in Brock's training program.

 

Strengthening exercises can actually help reduce back problems.

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53 minutes ago, Top Sven Baercheese said:

Obviously it's only the 2nd game, but even watching in Preseason, it seems that something is slightly off with Boeser. 

This article focuses on many things, but one of the things is a comparative between Boeser and Hamhuis, and that Boeser is likely playing scared after is traumatizing injury last season: https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/harrison-mooney-brock-boeser-looks-tentative-a-lot-riding-on-elias-pettersson

It does seem like he isn't getting his hands dirty as much as last year. Even the final 2 goals for the Flames were because Boeser lost a puck battle. 

Do you think he's playing scared? If so, how long do you think it'll last?

Obviously Boeser is struggling. It is not a small sample problem. He struggled in pre-season and in the first two games. And we can see just by watching that it is not a question of bad bounces or other kinds of bad luck. His actual play has declined relative to last year.

 

He looks slow. He wasn't a fast skater last year, but he looks slower this year. The thing that has been most visible to me is that his passing is off. I have seen a lot of passes that are off target. I haven't seen enough shots to draw conclusions but the fact that we have not yet seem him bury a good shot is not a good sign. {Admittedly, between pre-season and the first two games he has hit a couple of posts or crossbars.) He has also not been doing well in puck battles and even his ability to be in the right place at the right time seems a bit off. And he often looks really tired on the bench -- more than is normal.

 

I have read several plausible theories. Probably more than one is relevant. But I have no idea of the relative importance of these factors. I have arranged them from the more positive ones to ones that would be bad news.

 

1. He gained too much upper body weight over the summer. Even if it is mostly muscle, extra upper body weight hurts skating as it adds weight, adds momentum (making it harder to turn or stop), and raises the center of gravity. If he loses that extra weight his ability to get to the right place at the right time and his skating in general will improve. Also, the extra upper body muscle probably hurt his passing skills. By either dropping the weight or getting used to it, his passing will improve.

 

2. He missed training time in the summer. He is just behind the others in terms of timing, conditioning, etc. He will catch up as usually happens in situations like this.

 

3. He has been often matched up against top D pairings and top lines. That makes it tougher to do well but he will adjust. And, although he has not done a lot so far, if a couple of those crossbars or posts had gone in for him or his linemates (generating assists for him), we would not be having this conversation.  As opposing teams shift more of their focus to Pettersson that should open things up for the Horvat line. So the main answer is just a bit of patience.

 

4. His back injury has affected his confidence. It will take a while to get his confidence back. But if the issue is just mental, once again the answer is just patience.

 

5. His back is still bothering him physically. That can affect skating, shooting, passing, and everything else. Back injuries are tricky. They can take a long time to get over and sometimes there is a permanent effect on what the player can do. I think that happened with Edler, among others. If this is the issue, we hope that he just improves with time.

 

6. His wrist is still bothering him physically. It is taped so obviously it is not 100%. That can affect his shot, his passing, puck battles, and his whole approach to the game. The worrying thing is that he has had nagging wrist problems for a long time.

 

7. Something else.

 

Some people have questioned his linemates, especially Baertschi, but I don't think that can explain what we have observed. Also "sophomore jinx" has been mentioned, but that doesn't mean anything. If a player struggles in his second year, there must be a reason for it.

 

Bottom line: It is too early to panic but it is not too early to be a bit worried.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Having had a serious back injury, it does linger and make you a bit tentative for awhile.  Not so much "scared" as protective and cautious.  It also can have an impact on ROM so it just may take awhile.  I'm not going to create an issue out of this because I don't think it'll help him much.  To put the spotlight on him in a negative way.

 

He's young and will rebound.  Patience is required as he does...

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55 minutes ago, 6string said:

Two parts to that. Number one,in all training routines you avoid engaging your back. Two,excercises involving the back would not be in Brock's training program.

 

Strengthening exercises can actually help reduce back problems.

Have you seen how big his biceps are this year? Try add upper body muscle without involving your back at all.

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1 hour ago, Top Sven Baercheese said:

Obviously it's only the 2nd game, but even watching in Preseason, it seems that something is slightly off with Boeser. 

This article focuses on many things, but one of the things is a comparative between Boeser and Hamhuis, and that Boeser is likely playing scared after is traumatizing injury last season: https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/harrison-mooney-brock-boeser-looks-tentative-a-lot-riding-on-elias-pettersson

It does seem like he isn't getting his hands dirty as much as last year. Even the final 2 goals for the Flames were because Boeser lost a puck battle. 

Do you think he's playing scared? If so, how long do you think it'll last?

edit: for the record I don't think he's playing scared, I think teams are just focused in on him more, especially with the Sedin's gone. They're limiting his shots drastically. But eyes on Brock leads to the eyes being of Pettersson. 

Seen tape on his right wrist, he might be playing hurt.

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