Kevin Boyle (ice hockey)

Kevin Boyle (born May 30, 1992) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. Boyle played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Anaheim Ducks.

Kevin Boyle
Boyle with the San Diego Gulls in 2019
Born (1992-05-30) May 30, 1992 (age 31)
Manalapan, New Jersey, U.S.
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Anaheim Ducks
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2016–2022

Playing career edit

Amateur edit

Boyle first played competitive hockey as a junior with the New Jersey Rockets of the Atlantic Junior Hockey League from 2007 through 2010, he made one appearance with the Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League (USHL) during his tenure with the Rockets.

Moving to the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) as an 18-year old for the 2010–11 season, Boyle appeared in 39 games for the Westside Warriors, earning All-Rookie Team honours.

Boyle originally committed to play collegiate hockey at the University of Massachusetts Amherst of the Hockey East. He played both his freshman and sophomore seasons with the Minutemen posting a 16-17-6 record in 41 games before he was cut by head coach John Micheletto prior to his junior season. He was forced to sit out the 2013–14 season to transfer to rival program the University of Massachusetts Lowell.[1]

Boyle returned to resume his collegiate career with the Riverhawks, enjoying a standout senior season in 2015–16 with Lowell, recording a 24-10-5 record, 1.88 (GAA), .934 (SV%) and seven shutouts to earn Hockey East Goaltender of the Year and Hockey East Co-Player of the Year, alongside Thatcher Demko. He ranked tied for fourth in the nation in GAA, fifth in wins, tied for sixth in SV%, tied for third in shutouts and starts (39), as Boyle established a single-season school record in shutouts and broke former NHL Goaltender Dwayne Roloson's school record for minutes played (2,342 in 1993-94). He was the first player in Hockey East history to win conference Player of the Year honors as a Second-Team All-Conference selection.[2]

Professional edit

Undrafted, Boyle gained NHL interest from his collegiate success, resulting in agreeing to a one-year, entry-level contract with the Anaheim Ducks on March 31, 2016.[3]

In his first professional season in 2016–17, Boyle began the year with the Ducks secondary affiliate, the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL, posting a 9–6–1 record in 16 games before he was elevated to remain with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL, going 10–5–4 with one shutout. On June 30, 2017, Boyle was re-signed to a one-year contract extension to continue with the Ducks.[4]

Boyle continued his progression in the 2017–18 season, playing the full season with the Gulls of the AHL. In collecting a 29–18–6 record with two shutouts, Boyle ranked 10th among AHL goaltenders in SV% (.921), while finishing second among rookies in SV%, fifth in wins (19) and sixth in GAA (2.66). Boyle established a San Diego Gulls franchise record last season in games played with 35 and matched a club record for single-season wins.

On June 19, 2018, Boyle signed a two-year, two-way contract extension with the Ducks.[5] During the 2018–19 season, Boyle received his first recall to the NHL on November 19, 2018, however returned to the Gulls without playing.[6] With the slumping Ducks suffering injuries to established duo Ryan Miller and John Gibson, Boyle was recalled to serve as backup to Chad Johnson. On February 9, 2019, Boyle made his NHL debut with the Ducks, coming in relief of Johnson after the first period. In 40 minutes, he stopped 19 of 21 shots in a 6–2 defeat to the Philadelphia Flyers.[7] On February 13, Boyle made his first career NHL start where he stopped 35 shots from the Vancouver Canucks for his first career shutout.[8]

On October 9, 2020, Boyle signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Detroit Red Wings.[9] In his lone season within the Red Wings' organization, he was assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. In 12 appearances in the pandemic shortened 2020–21 season, he posted a 7–3–1 record.

On August 20, 2021, Boyle signed his first European contract by agreeing to a one-year deal with Italian based HC Bolzano of the ICE Hockey League.[10]

On August 5, 2022, Boyle announced his retirement from professional hockey through Instagram.[11]

Career statistics edit

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2008–09 New Jersey Rockets AtJHL 1 2.00 .938
2008–09 Tri-City Storm USHL 1 0 1 0 60 4 0 4.00 .879
2009–10 New Jersey Rockets AtJHL 19 2.71 .913 4 3.00 .876
2010–11 Westside Warriors BCHL 39 20 16 1 2205 111 1 3.02 .901 12 6 6 700 35 1 3.00 .907
2011–12 UMass-Amherst HE 21 8 7 4 1140 57 0 3.00 .895
2012–13 UMass-Amherst HE 20 8 10 2 1185 54 1 2.73 .897
2014–15 UMass-Lowell HE 34 18 9 6 1962 79 3 2.42 .915
2015–16 UMass-Lowell HE 39 24 10 5 2364 72 7 1.83 .934
2016–17 Utah Grizzlies ECHL 16 9 6 1 967 44 0 2.73 .908 5 1 4 289 16 0 3.32 .900
2016–17 San Diego Gulls AHL 19 10 5 4 1111 42 1 2.27 .924
2017–18 San Diego Gulls AHL 35 19 13 2 2052 91 1 2.66 .921
2018–19 San Diego Gulls AHL 43 24 13 2 2362 114 0 2.90 .907 7 3 3 374 14 1 2.25 .920
2018–19 Anaheim Ducks NHL 5 1 3 0 277 10 1 2.17 .928
2019–20 San Diego Gulls AHL 20 9 7 2 1127 53 0 2.82 .911
2020–21 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 12 7 3 1 686 33 0 2.89 .883
2021–22 HC Bozen ICE 26 13 11 1 1,566 77 0 2.95 .905
NHL totals 5 1 3 0 277 10 1 2.17 .928

Awards and honors edit

Award Year
BCHL
All-Rookie Team 2011
College
HE Second All-Star Team 2016
HE All-Tournament Team 2016
HE Tournament MVP 2016
HE Goaltender of the Year 2016
HE Player of the Year 2016 [2]
New England D1 All-Stars 2016
AHL
All-Star Game 2019 [12]

References edit

  1. ^ "Former UMass-Amherst goaltender Kevin Boyle switches allegiances to UMass-Lowell". sbncollegehockey.com. 2013-07-11. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
  2. ^ a b "Boyle, Demko named Hockey East Co-Players of the Year". Hockey East. 2016-03-17. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
  3. ^ "Ducks sign Boyle to one-year, entry-level contract". Anaheim Ducks. 2016-03-31. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
  4. ^ "Ducks sign Goaltender Boyle to one-year contract". Anaheim Ducks. 2017-06-30. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
  5. ^ "Ducks sign Boyle to two-year, two-way contract". Anaheim Ducks. 2018-06-19. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
  6. ^ "Ducks recall Dotchin, Mahura and Boyle from San Diego". Anaheim Ducks. 2018-11-19. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  7. ^ "Ducks rookie Goaltender Kevin Boyle thrilled after making NHL debut". OC Register. 2019-02-09. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
  8. ^ Greenspan, Dan (February 13, 2019). "Ducks' Kevin Boyle shuts out Canucks in 1st career start". cbc.ca. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  9. ^ Kujawa, Kyle (October 9, 2020). "Red Wings add Riley Barber, Kyle Criscuolo and Kevin Boyle". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  10. ^ "Kevin Boyle is the Fox's new goalie" (in German). HC Bolzano. August 20, 2021. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  11. ^ @boyle530 (5 August 2022). "Hockey has been a part of my life ever since I was born" – via Instagram.
  12. ^ "Kevin Boyle named to AHL All-Star Classic". oursportscentral.com. 2019-01-24. Retrieved 2019-02-03.

External links edit

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Hockey East Player of the Year
2015–16
(shared with Thatcher Demko)
Succeeded by
Preceded by Hockey East Goaltending Champion
2015–16
Succeeded by
Preceded by Hockey East Three-Stars Award
2015–16
Succeeded by