Brock Boeser

Lore & Background

Boeser grew up in Burnsville, Minnesota, as the youngest of three children to Duke and Laurie Boeser. His father was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2010 and later suffered a severe brain injury from a car accident, forcing him to stop working; his mother worked multiple jobs to support the family. In August 2014, while Boeser was in Slovakia for the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, a car accident south of Minneapolis–St. Paul killed one of his closest friends and severely injured another. His father died on May 26, 2022.

After leading the USHL with 35 goals in his first season with the Waterloo Black Hawks, Boeser played college hockey at the University of North Dakota, winning the 2016 NCAA Division I national championship as a freshman and earning First Team All-American honors. He returned for a sophomore season despite a wrist injury, then signed with the Canucks in March 2017. In his NHL debut that same day, he scored his first goal in a 4–2 win over the Minnesota Wild.

Boeser's rookie season featured a hat trick against the Pittsburgh Penguins on November 4, 2017, making him the first Canucks player aged 20 or younger to do so since Trevor Linden. He was named NHL Rookie of the Month for November and December 2017, selected to his first NHL All-Star Game, and won MVP of the 2018 All-Star Game as the first rookie to do so since Mario Lemieux. A back injury in March 2018 ended his season early, but he was a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy.

Reader's Guide

Brock Boeser's significance to the Vancouver Canucks is defined by his consistent offensive production and several franchise milestones. He became the first Canucks rookie to win NHL All-Star Game MVP since Mario Lemieux in 1985, and his hat trick as a 20-year-old tied him with franchise legends Trevor Linden and Tony Tanti. In the 2023–24 season, he scored 40 goals, becoming the 10th player in franchise history to reach that mark and the first since Ryan Kesler and Daniel Sedin in 2010–11. He also recorded two natural hat tricks that season, a feat not achieved by a Canuck since Petri Skriko in 1986–87.

In the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, Boeser recorded his first career playoff hat trick in Game 4 against the Nashville Predators, becoming the first Canuck to do so since Trevor Linden in 1996. A blood clotting issue discovered after Game 6 against the Edmonton Oilers forced him to miss the remainder of the playoffs, but he finished tied for the team lead in playoff scoring with 12 points. His career has been marked by resilience through personal tragedy, including the deaths of his father and a close friend, as well as multiple injuries. He has signed multiple contracts with Vancouver, most recently a seven-year deal in 2025, cementing his role as a core player and alternate captain.

Did You Know?

• Boeser was named MVP of the 2018 NHL All-Star Game, becoming the first rookie to win the award since Mario Lemieux in 1985.
• He scored his first NHL career natural hat trick in the 2023–24 season opener against the Edmonton Oilers.
• Boeser's father died on May 26, 2022, after battling Parkinson's disease and a severe brain injury from a car accident.
• He was a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2018 despite missing the final 16 games of the season due to a back injury.