Canucks' future is fueled by a 'Brocket'

Even before Brock Boeser's hat trick, it was becoming clear that the Vancouver Canucks are headed in a different direction.

This is a team that has spent the last few seasons scraping the bottom of the barrel. (Remember when they seemed like they could be competitive, but were really good at blowing leads in the third period?) Now, during a campaign largely viewed as the Sedin Brothers Farewell Tour, the Canucks are trying to stay out of the basement while simultaneously looking forward.

You can thank Boeser for that, as he shapes up to be the potential future of this team.
“What if this guy is actually one of those kinds of players?” Todd Bertuzzi lamented on SportsNet 360 . "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?”

We got a small look at the "Brocket" last season, although he garnered little attention between the Canucks' dismal record and the pack of rookies already hogging the spotlight. (Kind of hard to steal the limelight from Laine and Matthews during the 2016-17 season.) But with a new campaign underway, we get a better look at what the 20-year-old is capable of. After being scratched from the Canucks' lineup at the opening of the season, Boeser has emerged as the teams leading scorer registering 13 points in his first 13 games. If he keeps up this pace, he'll be the first Canuck in nearly six seasons to register more than 30 goals in a season.

The Minnesota native isn't a one-man show either. He has made his way up to the top line placement, in a combo with Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi. (A chemistry-charged line that straight up dominated the Penguins' Crosby-led top line last weekend.)

Which brings us to Boeser's first career hat trick, notched against the defending Stanley Cup champions. Not only did he lead the attack on Matt Murray – who hoisted a Stanley Cup in his first ever NHL playoffs just months ago – but Boeser did so with all the confidence of a seasoned veteran. After Pittsburgh tied the tilt up at two goals a piece late in the third, the Boeser-Horvat-Baertschi combo got to grinding. "When they tied the game, we didn't have any panic.," Boeser told NHL.com. "We knew we had to keep putting our foot on the pedal." Sounds like team-leading stuff right there.

Of note: Canucks bench boss Travis Green opted to put the Boeser and company on the ice at crunch time. The Sedins, who have been the team's cornerstones for many seasons, tallied remarkably low ice time.

Boeser isn't just a young player to watch – he could be signaling the changing of the guard up in Vancouver.