Boeser is a healthy scratch for Canucks on opening night and fans are pissed

Oct 8 2017, 1:57 am

It’s hard to win Rookie of the Year from the press box.

Rookie Brock Boeser will be a healthy scratch for the Canucks’ first game of the season tonight, against the Edmonton Oilers. Fans are not pleased.

You can understand why.

No player on the roster represents hope for the future more than Boeser, with dreams of a Calder Trophy dancing in the minds of Canucks fans.

Fans want a youth movement, and want to see young players play. They were displeased all week when it appeared like Jake Virtanen may sit on opening night. They’re downright furious after news hit on Saturday morning that Boeser will sit.

Head coach Travis Green did his best to explain the decision after practice on Saturday.

“He’s going to play, he’s going to get his chance,” Green said. “It’s just one game, we’ve set our lineup to put against a real good Edmonton team.”

Green has said that he will change his lineup based on the opponent, so perhaps these kinds of moves are something we should get used to. If there is any player that you want to game-plan against, it’s Connor McDavid.

If it helps the team win, then a lot will be forgiven, and Green isn’t the first coach to sit a rookie on opening night. Problem is, many people feel like Boeser helps Vancouver’s chances to win games right now. Certainly more than say, a player like Derek Dorsett.

“[Boeser’s] going to get his chance, it’s not like he’s going to sit here for a month,” Green said, adding that there’s no guarantee Boeser will play in the second game of the season against Ottawa on Tuesday.

But to sit the golden boy Boeser, after he lead the team in scoring throughout preseason is a tough pill to swallow.

Take it away, Canucks fans:

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