Travis Boychuk Biography

[DollarAndADream 3,356]

Full Name: Travis Boychuk
Position: C
Age: 25
Handedness: R
Jersey Number: 23
Height (inches): 6'0"
Weight (lbs.): 190lbs
Birthplace: Dvirkivschyna, Ukraine

 

Background:

 

Travis Boychuk was born and raised in Dvirkivschyna, Ukraine. Although not being from a particularly hockey orientated background, he was an instant fan as a child. Born to father and mother Victor and Maria Boychuk, Travis was raised in a loving home. His father was a factory worker, working for different companies in Ukraine for most of his life. He lived a well-paid lifestyle and could support Maria and Travis at home with ease. Travis' venture into hockey began as a child when his dad was watching a game on television. Throughout childhood, he had taken notice of fellow countryman Nikolaj Zherdev who played in the NHL at the time. Boychuk figured, if he can make it out of the country with hockey than so can I. He was instantly hooked and his father started bringing him to games in no time. Travis would practice at public rinks every day and eventually at the right age, he would join a minor league team in Kiev, Ukraine.

 

At the minor league level, Boychuk was noticeably better than the rest of the players on the ice. Any coach or viewer would see right away that his game was on another level than everyone else. You see, Travis had a knack for hockey and would dipsey-doodle around his opponents like no tomorrow. On most days, you would find Travis Boychuk at the rink perfecting his game even at the minor level. He was as dedicated as anyone could ask for and much more. It did not take very long for him to be placed alongside players that were older than him, and he did not shy away from taking his game to that next level. At the appropriate age, Boychuk was sent to join the junior affiliate of Sokil Kyiv, a professional hockey league team based in Kiev; Ukraine's capital.

 

At the junior level in Ukraine's capital, Boychuk would carry over the same game he brought to the minors. His skill was as apparent as one could imagine and scouts began to take notice. The assist record in this league would then be broken by Travis Boychuk, who proved to be a play maker to watch out for in the future. At this level, his shot was not quite there but he definitely made up for it in other categories. Hitting the net seemed to happen on a rare occasion in the juniors, but with a pile of points in the assist column it did not matter. Analysts knew this was something to work on, but he was still young and ready to be groomed into a different league. Being a Ukrainian, Travis Boychuk could not participate in the World Juniors due to a lack of talent to produce a full roster. What they could put together would not end up qualifying in the end.

 

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In his second season of junior, he would produce almost identical numbers to his previous season. It was not difficult to note that he was ready for the next step in his hockey career. After the duration of the season, Boychuk was given multiple awards in the league. He won awards for Point Leader, Most Exciting Player, Hardest Worker and Playoff MVP after winning with his team. Nobody knew where Travis would go after juniors, but he was noticed on a big stage when selected in the 2nd Round of the NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils. Travis Boychuk was kicking tires at the thought of going to the NHL as an idea, but felt stepping up right away was not the right thing to do. It was then that his agent found a new home for him in Ottawa, Canada where he would play for the Ottawa Lynx of the VHLM. As he was eligible for VHL Minor Hockey, Ottawa claimed him off waivers and he felt this would prepare him to enter the NHL or VHL later on.

 

The VHLM Days:

 

Ottawa Lynx:

 

The VHLM was in Season 36 and well underway, so Travis Boychuk would join the team when things were moving. In Season 36, the Lynx were in no way a competitive team but Boychuk was excited to play a new level of hockey and work hard to get better. Some rising stars of today were also on the Lynx, being Konstantin Azshishchenkov and Dimothenis Vlasis. Playing alongside KJA, Boychuk would be a little bit over-shadowed by this powerful forward. All eyes were on KJA so Boychuk worked to make his game better, and with the spotlight taken off of him for a change he would make it an advantage. To no one's surprise but his own, it would take time for him to get some foothold in the VHLM. Boychuk had struggled to gain ground and score points for awhile before making a name for himself. The Ottawa Lynx would not make the playoffs that year, but there were many upsides to the season. For Travis Boychuk, he managed to post 14 Goals and 30 Assists for 44 Points in the 56 Games that he had played.

 

As a surprise to Boychuk, he was selected to take part in the Season 36 Top Prospects Game, where he would play for the European Conference. The Euro Conference would go on to lose that game 9-8 in a thrilling OT Loss. Boychuk would score a late 3rd period tally bringing the game to OT, and with that Travis managed to post 1 Goal and 1 Assist while putting 5 shots on net, 4 hits and 1 blocked shot. Not quite Boychuk's style, he would get in a fight with Ron World Peace as well during this game, getting beat up in a one sided brawl. All in all, VHLM GMs would take notice of his talent before the Season 37 VHLM Dispersal Draft. During this draft, Boychuk was selected at 6th overall to the Turku Outlaws. This off-season was also the same one that drafted Travis Boychuk to the VHL's Calgary Wranglers at 8th Overall.

 

Turku Outlaws:

 

After the Dispersal Draft, Travis Boychuk would make his way back to Europe where he would land in Turku to take on a new task at hand. Although, Boychuk was not the only one heading to the Outlaws at this time as this was a draft full of Turku draftees. During Season 37, the Outlaws were a very strong club. Led by their extreme offensive output by defensemen Svoboda, Wylde and Vlasis it would not be too tough of a time to get some chemistry brewing. Travis Boychuk established himself as the number one center for the squad and they got off to somewhat of a rocky start. Travis' skill was made very clear on this team outscoring the rest of the forwards there and becoming the most reliable forward also. He would end the season as one of the year's best breakout players, earning 79 points in 72 games; 26 of those being goals. Boychuk would finish with a nice +27 and 58.61% in the face off circle. The Outlaws would go on to end the season on a 6 game winning streak heading into the playoffs, getting to 3rd in the league with 100 points.

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During the post-season, the Outlaws would face up against the Bratislava Watchmen in the 1st Round. The Watchmen were the defending Founder's Cup Champions and would be defeated by Turku in just 5 games. In the 2nd Round, Boychuk and the Outlaws would match up against the mighty Bern Royals. As an unfortunate event for Turku, they would be eliminated in 6 games by Bern and would not advanced. In the playoffs, Travis Boychuk had an alright showing with 10 points in 11 games. Boychuk would go on to state that he was disappointed in himself for only posting 1 goal during the run. Overall, Boychuk had a great showing in the VHLM, with many VHL GMs taking notice of him and quickly earning himself respect for his great play making and vision.

 

International Play:

 

During his junior career, Boychuk did not get the chance to represent his country at an international level due to his Ukrainian heritage. Sticking to Ukraine, he only ever had citizenship in the one country, making him ineligible for play at an international level. It would be after his season in Turku that he would be selected to partake in the VHL World Cup for Team Europe. Boychuk did not have any outstanding play at the tournament, but managed to gain respect at that stage and earn 1 Goal and 1 Assist for 2 Points in those 12 Games. Team Europe made it all the way to the Gold Medal Game, but fell just shy of winning the ultimate prize. Team Canada had won the Gold, so Europe had to settle for a Silver Medal. This is quite an accomplishment on it's own for such a young player.

 

The VHL: Calgary Wranglers:

 

After the VHLM Playoffs, Boychuk had a tough decision to make. He had to decide whether to go to the VHL or the NHL. After a ton of thought, Boychuk and his agent decided the VHL was the place to be. This is a level of hockey that he had been waiting for throughout his whole career, and loved the opportunity that Calgary was holding for him. The Wranglers had drafted him at 8th Overall, and with that found a star center to build their offense around for years to come.

 

Many Wranglers fans were awaiting the stellar play of Travis Boychuk, and with training camp underway they were awarded with just that. Boychuk looked very in place with the Calgary squad, never a step behind. Analysts could tell he was ready for the big stage, and he himself was excited for the challenge ahead. We are now 27 games into the season, and Travis Boychuk has found himself in the center of attention in the VHL. Through these 27 games, Boychuk has put up 14 Goals and 32 Assists for 46 Points. These are amazing numbers for a rookie who is stepping into the league relatively unknown worldwide. He has always been out-shined by his teammates for the most part out of Ukraine, and now in Calgary he has lit his own spark. 46 points is good for 4th in scoring league-wide in the VHL; sick numbers indeed.

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Pros:

 

Passing: This man possesses elite-level passing. Throughout his whole hockey career it has become too apparent for his opponents that he can dish the puck tape to tape with ease. With this kind of vision heading into the VHL as a rookie, he already has gained some ground on the competition. It will be on a rare occasion that Boychuk delivers a bad pass, since this kid has a knack for threading the needle.

 

Skating: He has a relatively slender frame at 190lbs with 6'0" of height in the VHL. With this, Travis has a great stride in his skating. Although he paces himself, he can blow by defenders at times and never seems to get exhausted. He has a good amount of endurance, so minutes are no problem for him and he will not slow down. His pivots are on-par with the greats of the league, and can break out on command. One might take notice that this was a con earlier in his career, but he has seemed to perfect it with the VHLM training.

 

Puck Handling: Travis Boychuk has a way with the puck that all coaches desire. When on the ice, it can look like he has the puck on a string and will dangle around defenders like no tomorrow. Even when faced up against much bigger men, he is tough with the puck and will be very hard to knock off of the puck. He brings in Pavel Datysuk-esque handling and can wow the viewers with his skill.

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Cons:

 

Shooting: Throughout most of his career, Boychuk has not had a good time hitting the net. Although it has gotten a little better during his VHL stint, you usually can not catch him scoring many goals. On many occasion early in his career, you might have found him hitting the post or shooting it wide often. This is a con in his game to take note of, but it seems it is his main goal in the VHL to get better at it. It will be something to keep an eye on heading forward.

 

Physicality: He can be great when holding the puck, but retrieving it is another story in itself. Simply put, Boychuk does not have the size and strength to take on the biggest of the VHL. He will bring the offense, but he finds it extremely difficult to bump a player off of the puck. Making big hits is not his forte, so nobody should look forward to that happening any time in the future. Boychuk will stand up for his teammates if he has to, but the tough guys are there for a reason and that is to stop him from doing just that. You will not be seeing him win a fight, that is for certain.

 

Defense: Although he is relatively good at defending, you will not find him doing anything amazing. On one-on-one's, you will not often see him breaking it up. He might miss a pass block or two coming his way at this stage of his VHL career, but it is not something to worry too much about. He can get burned on occasion defending in the neutral zone by the more gifted players on the ice. At least not right now, he is not your typical two-way forward. There are things to be seen here though, as he continues to improve on his game.

[eaglesfan036 4,602]

Overview: 3/3 - Great history on Boychuk's career so far. Scouts had Boychuk pegged as a dedicated player, and he is churning out those practice hours each week in proof of his dedication. Keep up the good work and I'm sure you'll do great on Calgary

 

Grammar: 2/2 - A few silly mistakes

 

points for awhile  = points for a while 

and would not advanced = and would not advance

it's own = its own

can not = cannot 

 

Presentation: 1/1 - Looks good.

 

Pros: 2/2 - Met sentence and word requirements. Looks like you are a playmaker

 

Cons: 2/2 - Met sentence and word requirements. 

 

Overall: 10/10

 

Final: 10/10