Brock Boeser opens up about his father's passing

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Joshua Deeds
September 13, 2022 (9:58)

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Brock Boeser's had a rough off-season as his father passed away in May of 2022, Duke Boeser fought Lung Cancer and Parkinson's disease to support his dream, which coincidentally was Brock's dream also.

Boeser was drafted in 2015 by the Vancouver Canucks has been a staple in the lineup since 2017-2018, and has not had a year under 30 points since his rookie season.

«He was my biggest fan, for sure,» Brock says. «Always grew up watching hockey together. I'd sit on his lap watching Wild games. He was always amazed at some of the stuff I could do; it was pretty funny. He was a laid-back hockey dad. He watched all my high school games from the glass. Never really said anything other than to shoot top right corner or just to shoot more. He never got mad at me ever.»

Duke was right there all along, to support Boeser from squirt, to junior games, including when Brock won the National Championship with North Dakota in 2016.

«I'm living through Brock from afar,» he once said proudly, in large part because he was so self-deprecating about his own hockey prowess during his younger days. He'd often crack that he was the fastest skater on the ice before setting up the punchline: The problem was, «I couldn't turn or stop.»

In 2021-2022, Duke would suffer from dementia and as a result Boeser would feel guitly playing, while his father was struggling day to day.

His dementia would progress, after hitting his head in an assisted care facility until he was brought home, from there walking and talking would be more difficult for Duke.

«It was pretty cruel to watch from afar,» Brock says. «I don't think anyone really understands unless you've been through it how hard it is to go through during a season, especially when you leave and he is fine and you come home and he is a little worse and then you come home and he can barely walk. And then you're worried that your mom's taking care of him the whole time. My brother (Paul's) here (in Minnesota) and my sister is there, but it's pretty hard when my mom's the main caregiver and he's in pain and she has to get him in and out of bed and all that stuff.

«I was mentally tired at certain points during the season because I was so stressed out. It was hard for me to have that passion each and every night.»

Duke Boeser would see his son play one last game against the Minnesota Wild in March of 2022.

Brock would return home, to spend time with his father in what little time was left.

«There's the times you're laying in bed and it hurts a lot,» he says. «But when I really get worked up and feel really bad and sad and tears come to my eyes, I try to think of how much pain he was in. No one should go through what he went through.

«So I send a prayer up and then that usually makes me feel a little better. I think about him squeezing my hand. And then I go to sleep.»

Brock struggled a lot last season, given losing a parent is a heavy loss, there is hope for Brock to refocus on the game, while appreciating the fact his dad is no longer in pain.

Grieving isn't a linear process and hopefully Brock has a good support system at home and in Vancouver.