Some time ago, I needed a PT graded before the final regular season update (probably because it would be Bentley's last update) and so I PMed DollarAndADream asking him to grade it out of turn with the promise of a VHL.com article once I got a new player. I promptly forgot about this once Clegane was created but going through my old PMs recently I saw our conversation and here we are.
And while I'm doing this because I have to, Travis Boychuk is a player who I've been meaning to profile for some time. I often inexplicably grow fond of certain players, be they Carl Jacobs, Joe Nash, or Brody Hodgson, and in this generation that has been Boychuk. This may have partially been due to my retaining a soft spot for Calgary and Boychuk being the lone (maybe alongside Brookside) bright spot on their last unsuccessful run definitely painted him in a positive light.
There was also the fact that Boychuk could become a Conner Low-like success following one of the few 100-point rookie seasons in VHL history which I once profiled for the mag. That didn't really come to fruition, as first Calgary was not the ideal platform for continued success, and then Boychuk became accustomed to a shadow role, both on his team behind Wolf and Thomassen and league-wide, as the S40 draftees like O'Malley, Zoidberg, 3 Moons, and Richardson came to the fore.
Yet that is a role which seems to suit Boychuk. He's put his team first, and he's one of a handful of players to captain two teams for two seasons each, no mean feat. Now in his final season, Travis Boychuk won't be in the Hall of Fame, but the law of VHL karma suggests he will get his just rewards in the future. And while few would appreciate Quebec winning the cup this season, it would still be nice if Boychuk got a ring to take into the sunset.