After the challenge on ice and on ice, Canax’s Bozer “has a lot to prove”

Vancouver – Block Bozer became emotionally very difficult when he tried to play at Vancouver Canucks when his father returned to his hometown of Minnesota last spring, and Winger when his elbow was injured in April. Really felt a spiritual relief.

“It’s strange to say it out loud,” Bozer said on a phone call from Wisconsin on Saturday, where he was visiting his grandmother. “I was mentally exhausted and mentally exhausted, and I felt it a lot. Just all the stress. It sounds really messed up, but when I get injured again I don’t lie. I was mentally tired, so I was almost (relieved). I think I was really influenced. “

Duke Bozer died on May 27, 12 years after the arrival of Parkinson’s disease, and was eventually flooded with serious health problems such as cancer and dementia. Duke was 61 years old. Brock is 25 years old.

He spent last season worried about his father, hoping to be with him and his mother, Laurie, and wondering what more he could do while fulfilling his obligations to Canax. Bozer was a ghost one night, but he scored 23 out of 46 goals in 71 games.

He lived with so much fear and uncertainty that he accepted the idea of ​​extending his three-year contract with Canax when he had the chance to find a solid foundation on Friday. National Hockey League.

Saturday’s interview with Sportsnet was Bozer’s first interview since being asked about his father at the Canax year-end press conference on May 1. Bozer left the media room that day and returned to Burnsville, Minnesota, where he was with Duke for his last few weeks.

“It was a tough scenario everywhere,” Bozer said. “I wish I could have done better (last season). If I scored five or six more goals, I might be in the playoffs. Given that, I’m sure I’ll eat.

“I’m moving forward and doing things one day at a time … After all, for the last two weeks I’ve been really thinking about hockey and shifting my focus to it. Waiting for the season to start. I can’t finish. I’m very excited because this deal has been completed. And, as I said, I know there’s a lot to prove. Mentally in another year. It will be, and it’s exciting. “

Bozer said the Kanax scoresheet could track last season’s emotional state. When he got home for Christmas vacation, Bozer said he saw how much Duke declined. In September, Duke was able to walk when Brock left for the Canax training camp. By January, he couldn’t, Brock said.

After Bruce Boudreau coached Travis Green in December and scored five times in six games, Bozer scored once in eight games after Christmas holidays. When his elbow was injured in the match against Vegas Golden Knights on April 3, Bozer did not score points in four games and scored only four goals in 20 games.

Bozer was able to “mentally reorganize” in the absence of five games of injury, ending the season with four goals and eight points in the last seven games in Vancouver.

Bozer’s poorest NHL season came in the year of the platform as his first bridge contract expired and Canax faced a $ 7.5 million eligible offer to retain the rights of a restricted free agent. .. The three-year US $ 19.95 million contract announced by Canax on Canada Day was a compromise for both parties.

“I’m really happy,” said Bozer. “We all knew that the (arbitration) deadline was today. No one of us really wanted to go down that route, especially after everything happened. They really Believe me and I feel it strongly. Just for three years, everything that has happened so far focuses on hockey here, what you can do, and what you do After showing everyone what I can do, I think it’s a good opportunity for me.

“Looking back at this year, I still had 23 goals and had the heaviest weight on my shoulders, just because I didn’t have that weight … I mean, I still have something, but now It’s a little different. I know there’s a lot to prove, and I think I’m really driven to show everyone what I can do. “

According to Mr. Bozer, the mother is spending more time with him at his home in nearby Prior Lake, and the family plans to sell the old home in Burnsville.

“I’ve been there a few times and it’s pretty weird,” Brock said. “It’s really quiet. So maybe you should sell it and start from a new, smaller place … We understand that. It’s a day at a time, but it’s starting to get better little by little. I am. “

Before and after his father died, Bozer said he received great support not only from his teammates and friends, but also from Kanax fans and people around the NHL.

“It has been overwhelming since we broke up with the media,” he said. “I received a lot of messages … People reaching out. Many people say they have a complete understanding of what we are doing. They are relatives of dementia and I have a father and a mother.

“It has always been overwhelmed by all the support from all Kanax fans. And even in the last few years, everyone has really done everything. They have been very supportive of my dad. For his last few days, I was in my dad’s ear telling him how much support he had and how everyone thought about him and sent texts and more. I know he definitely heard. It always made a lot of sense for him and our whole family. “