In an NHL career primarily spent with the Boston Bruins that spanned more than 300 games, Johnny Boychuk had all of one power-play goal. Then he got traded to the New York Islanders and scored twice on the man advantage in just three games.
With six points in those first three games, it looked like Boston had badly miscast Boychuk as a solely defensive defenceman. However, in the five games since Boychuk is pointless, and the return of Lubomir Visnovsky to the Islanders’ lineup has coincided with a demotion for Boychuk off the top power-play unit. Does this suggest that Boychuk’s success was an aberration, and that he’ll go back to being the player he was for the Bruins?
To answer that question, it’s important to go back and see how Boychuk has performed offensively over his career. Was he never given an opportunity, or did he have a chance to make an impression and simply fail to do so?
Boychuk had some offensive potential coming out junior; he scored 40 points with the Calgary Hitmen in his draft year. Scouts praised his tools, but not his toolkit; some of the comments made in ...
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Article written by Jonathan Willis
Has Johnny Boychuk Been Reborn as an Offensive D-Man with New York Islanders?
October 27th, 2014 by Jonathan Willis Leave a reply »
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