Johnny Boychuk can still remember those carefree days as a young hockey player.
“I’d always just want to be out there, have fun, hit people and make a difference,” Boychuk said. “I remember going to the outdoor rink after school, after I’d done my homework, always trying to be on the ice.”
Those were the first steps in the journey that led to 725 regular season games in the NHL.
“When I was first growing up, you wanted to play in the NHL but you didn’t know if you could,” said Boychuk, who is a product of Edmonton’s Maple Leaf Athletic Club.
“Now that I look back on it, it was a grind.
“I played five years in the minors before I finally got my first shot in the NHL with Colorado as a forward, which I wasn’t very fond of because I’m a defenceman.”
Boychuk, 36, announced his retirement last week.
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On March 3, he was struck in the face by the skate of Montreal Canadiens forward Artturi Lehkonen.
“I think I’ve only watched it once and I didn’t want to watch it again,” he said. “It brings back how you felt when you first get kicked in the face with a skate blade.”
He was able to return to play three games in the NHL’s pandemic-delayed post-season, but ultimately his vision isn’t where it needs to be.
“I talked to the doctors and they told me about two-and-a-half months ago, it’d be a good idea to stop playing because I can’t really see that much.”
Boychuk won the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011, beating the Vancouver Canucks in seven games.
“We lost the first two games and I think they already had their Stanley Cup parade set. That kind of lit a fire in us.
“I think we knew we were going to win. It was just a matter of time. People always counted us out because they thought the Canucks were better than us. We had a team that was tough to play against. We had good systems. We had good coaching. We had good personnel.”
He was also part of one of the greatest comebacks in hockey history. In Game 7 of a first-round series against Toronto in 2013, the Bruins trailed 4-1 with 11 minutes left. They rallied to win 5-4 in overtime.
“We scored one and we could tell they were just deflated. We scored another and we knew they were done,” Boychuk said.
“We could just see it in them. As soon as we scored that second goal, you could just look over at their bench and their demeanor was gone. They were just deflated.”
Boychuk is currently in Edmonton with his family. He isn’t sure what his next step will be, though he does plan on staying involved in hockey.
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