Here is what you need to know about top prospect Brock Boeser — one of the purest goal-scorers in the 2015 NHL Draft.
Age: 18
Birthplace: Burnsville, Minn.
Current team: University of North Dakota, NCAA
Position: Centre
North American Central Scouting rank: 27
Shoots: Right
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 191 pounds
Twitter account: @BBoeser16
Jeff Marek’s take: A good finisher who plays a hard game at both ends of the ice. Can do a little bit of everything but his instincts are all about offence. Has a really good motor, hard working player. Rare for a kid his age to get the points he did in the USHL. At times he carried Waterloo. NHL Comparable: Teddy Purcell
It’ll take a heck of a career for Boeser to become Burnsville’s most famous athlete.
Two-time Olympic medallist and two-time world champion ski racer Lindsay Vonn made her first turns at Burnsville’s Buck Hill, about 23 miles south of the Twin Cities.
A quick stop in the United States Hockey League and off to college.
An all-rookie team no-brainer, Boeser co-led the USHL in goals (35) and finished third overall in points (68) in his 55 games as a member of the Waterloo Black Hawks. The rookie wasted no time leaping to a high league; he has committed to play for the University of North Dakota in 2015-16.
Boeser was devastated when his high school friends’ SUV rolled in August.
A fatal car crash in Minnesota last summer claimed the life of baseball player Ty Alyea and injured three more of Boeser’s peers. Boeser’s high school linemate and one of the passengers, Cole Borchardt, suffered a serious brain injury. His recovery has been described as “making progress with a ways to go.”
“I’m just praying and hoping for him,” Boeser told The Hockey News. “They were all my best friends growing up.”
Boeser retweeted this hopeful message in May:
And that isn’t the only car accident that has hit close to home.
Boeser’s greatest influence on his career is his father, Duane.
“He was in a major car accident (and almost died) and has Parkinson’s disease,” Boeser told NHL.com. “I play to make my dad proud.”
His success internationally is a source of pride.
Boeser told NHL.com that winning gold with the U.S. at the 2014 World Jr. A Challenge is his most memorable hockey moment. He scored four goals and added an assist in four games in that tournament. The teenager also captained his national team at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, leading in goals with six.
Either his entertainment choices are questionable or he’s a joker.
According to a rapid-fire questionnaire, Boeser’s favourite film is Never Back Down, his favourite TV show is Gossip Girl, his favourite actor is Blake Lively, and his favourite music group is… One Direction.
Sweet Parise, does this kid need to be exposed to better options.
Respect the shot.
The book on sniper Boeser is that his wicked shot is only enhanced by the hockey IQ and natural instincts to get it off in the right spot at the right time. He looks up to fellow Minnesota-born scorers Derek Stepan and Kyle Okposo, but some scouts have compared his game to Patrick Sharp’s.
He spent a lot of Saturday nights at Applebee’s in high school:
