| Johnny Boychuk | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 19, 1984 Edmonton, AB, CAN |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 225 lb (102 kg; 16 st 1 lb) |
| Position | Defence |
| Shoots | Right |
| NHL team Former teams |
Boston Bruins Colorado Avalanche |
| NHL Draft | 61st overall, 2002 Colorado Avalanche |
| Playing career | 2004–present |
John Paul Boychuk (born January 19, 1984) is a professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was a member of the Bruins' Stanley Cup Championship team in 2011.
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Boychuk was drafted 61st overall in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche. Prior to being drafted Boychuk was a product of the WHL Calgary Hitmen. Boychuk made his professional debut with the Hershey Bears in the 2004–05 season.
Boychuk spent the next four years in the Avalanche organization playing primarily for their AHL affiliations. Boychuk made his NHL debut in the 2007–08 season on the January 5, 2008 against the New York Islanders. Boychuk, a defenceman, made his debut as a forward playing on the wing.[1]
On June 24, 2008, Boychuk was traded to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Matt Hendricks.[2] Boychuk was assigned to the Providence Bruins to start the 2008–09 season and in his first week was named "AHL Player of the Week".[3] On December 1, 2008, Boychuk was recalled to Boston[4] and made his Bruins debut in a 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on December 4, 2008.[5] Boychuk was then returned to Providence for the rest of the season where he enjoyed a breakout season,[6] capturing the Eddie Shore Award by leading the league with 20 goals and 45 assists among defenceman and being named in the AHL's First All-Star Team.[7][8]
On July 1, 2009, Boychuk secured his first one-way contract when he re-signed with the Bruins for the 2009–10 season.[9]
As a member of the Bruins when they defeated the Vancouver Canucks to win the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals,[10] he was involved in a controversial play that resulted in Mason Raymond sustaining a vertebrae compression fracture twenty seconds into Game 6 on June 13. Raymond had been shoved backwards into the boards by Boychuk with the latter's stick caught between the former's legs.[11] The injury forced Raymond to miss the remainder of the series and the start of the following season. Boychuk was neither penalized on the play nor punished with a fine or suspension. Critical of the lack of any action taken against Boychuk, Canucks president Mike Gillis said, "I didn't see the puck around him. I thought the Boston player used a can opener and drove him with enough force into the board to break his back."[12] Mike Murphy, the NHL's senior vice president of hockey operations, defended the league's decision by explaining, "We felt it was a battle for the puck. Boychuk tried to eliminate Raymond by pushing him towards the boards as the puck went by."[13]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1999–00 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 66 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 61 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 17 | ||
| 2001–02 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 70 | 8 | 32 | 40 | 85 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2002–03 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 40 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Moose Jaw Warriors | WHL | 27 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 32 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 29 | ||
| 2003–04 | Moose Jaw Warriors | WHL | 62 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 71 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 9 | ||
| 2004–05 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 80 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Lowell Lock Monsters | AHL | 74 | 6 | 26 | 32 | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 80 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 125 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2007–08 | Lake Erie Monsters | AHL | 60 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 63 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 78 | 20 | 45 | 65 | 61 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 19 | ||
| 2008–09 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 51 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 43 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 2009–10 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 69 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 45 | 25 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | ||
| NHL totals | 125 | 8 | 23 | 31 | 88 | 38 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 18 | ||||
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| American Hockey League | ||
| First All-Star Team | 2009 | |
| Eddie Shore Award | 2009 | [7] |
| National Hockey League | ||
| Stanley Cup | 2011 | |