The Vancouver Canucks are seemingly set to get a major contributor back from injury.
Brock Boeser has taken a step forward in his recovery and appears ready to return to game action tomorrow night against the Boston Bruins.
Boeser re-joined his teammates at practice last Friday but wore a non-contact jersey. Today, he was a full participant and looked like himself. You can see him skating in the video below, posted by Sportsnet’s Dan Murphy.
“It felt great,” said Boeser to the media after practice. “Any time you get to go back out there with your teammates and be able to skate, full contact, it’s a nice little treat.”
“It is my first full-contact practice, so we’ll see how the rest of the day goes, and if all good, then hopefully I’m in tomorrow.”
“I thought he looked good today,” said head coach Rick Tocchet. “I’ll talk to him later this afternoon, see if he’s ready to go tomorrow, but he looked good.”
Tocchet went on to confirm that as long as there are no setbacks, Boeser will likely suit up for the Canucks tomorrow.
Boeser in a normal jersey today at BU. It would appear he’s ready to go versus Boston. #canucks pic.twitter.com/r97CGuqdEQ
— Dan Murphy (@sportsnetmurph) November 25, 2024
The 27-year-old hasn’t played since suffering a scary head injury after a headshot by Los Angeles Kings forward Tanner Jeannot. The NHL suspended Jeannot for three games for the hit.
Before getting hurt, Boeser was off to a strong start. He has recorded six goals and five assists in 11 games so far this year.
“He’s our scorer,” continued Tocchet. “You’re adding a guy who can add offence, but we’ve got to stay with the identity of our team, and Brock is a part of that. He plays the game really well without the puck, he’s usually out there last-minute of the game [if] we’re up a goal.”
“You’re adding a scorer, but you’re also adding a system guy, which is great.”
The winger had some new linemates as he was skating with Danton Heinen and Teddy Blueger, per Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre. It seems like Tocchet doesn’t want to mess with the excellent trio of Jake DeBrusk, Elias Pettersson, and Kiefer Sherwood, which has been so good.