

Photo Credit: Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports

Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning has built his professional reputation at the draft table and so far University of North Dakota forward Brock Boeser, Vancouver’s first-round pick at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, is making him look very smart.

Boeser, 18, is just six games into his freshman campaign with North Dakota (the school recently and respectably decided to retire their ‘Fighting Sioux’ nickname and won’t choose another until later this month), but he’s beginning to generate serious buzz. The tough American-born winger stood out again this weekend in a pair of games against Vermont, scoring a goal and adding two assists. With two victories this weekend North Dakota improved to 4-0-2 on the season, and are sure to retain their No. 1 ranking in division one.

Though he’s three years younger than most of the key players on his team, Boeser’s contributions have been crucial for North Dakota. It’s early, but it’s still worthwhile to spend some time discussing Boeser’s impressive start to the season.

Let’s start with what Boeser did this weekend. Not only did the young, gritty forward manage three points (making extremely impressive plays on two of the goals), but he also took nine shots on goal. This has become something of a habit for Boeser, who has already racked up 25 shots in six games, the most among all freshmen forwards in the NCAA so far.

Boeser’s sky-high shot rate is worth getting excited about. Consider that Boeser’s 4.17 shots per game rate would’ve ranked third among all NCAA freshman a year ago, behind Jack Eichel and Dylan Larkin. It’s early yet, and perhaps Boeser’s ability to direct pucks on the net will come back to Earth somewhat over the balance of his freshman campaign. If he can sustain that level of play though, that will auger extremely well for his future as an NHL player.

Let’s get back to Boeser’s performance against Vermont though. Here are all three points Boeser tallied, and this video is well worth your time. The highlights are absolutely stupendous:

(Video courtesy Ian Matheson)

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Boeser’s goal is slick. His speed, hockey IQ and wicked wrist shot are all on display.

For my money though it’s Boeser’s assist from the first game – a hard fought 2-0 North Dakota victory – that’s most impressive. Boeser looks like a gold glove quality shortstop diving to glove down a hard clearing attempt at the blue line, and then without missing a beat he recovers his footing and sets up a gimme two-on-one with a cross-seam pass to Chicago Blackhawks first-round pick Nick Schmaltz. A pretty remarkable sequence all around.

Though it’s still extremely early in the season, the rave reviews and elite results that Boeser is managing demands our attention. He’s been good enough that his progress should be watched closely. He’s even been good enough that the Canucks may want to push and get him under contract following his freshman year if he can keep this up…

(Stats in this piece courtesy collegehockeyinc.com)





