Bruins Re-Sign Johnny Boychuk

[blackngold]

BOSTON, MA - Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club has signed defenseman Johnny Boychuk to a one-year contract.

The 25-year-old Boychuk was the winner of the Eddie Shore Award as the American Hockey League’s outstanding defenseman for the 2008-09 season after recording 20 goals and 45 assists in 78 regular season games. His 20 goals and 45 assists were tops amongst all AHL defensemen and set a Providence Bruins team record for points by a blueliner. He finished second in the P-Bruins scoring race on the season, one point behind Martin St. Pierre.

Boychuk was also voted into the starting lineup for the Canadian team at the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic, was a co-winner of the CCM/AHL Player of the Month award for March, and was named a First Team AHL All-Star.

He was recalled once to Boston from December 1-7 and played his first game as a Bruin in a 3-1 win over Tampa Bay on December 4.

The 6-2, 225-pound native of Edmonton, Alberta was originally drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the second round (61st overall) of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. He has played in five NHL games in his career, four of which were with Colorado during the 2007-2008 campaign.

Boychuk was acquired by the Bruins on June 24, 2008 in a trade that sent Matt Hendricks to the Avalanche.

[chilly666]

damn it....i was hoping he would leave but with hunwick not seeming to come back, he could be the man to fit his spot.

[clydefrog]

isnt Boychuck a decent fighter too?

it looks like he averages about 100 pims a season..

[blackngold]

Originally Posted by clydefrog

isnt Boychuck a decent fighter too?

it looks like he averages about 100 pims a season..

He is but he really cut down on that part of his game recently; I think he had just 1 fight all of last season.

He still throws some mean hip checks though, Kyle McLaren style.

[chilly666]

eh ok i guess. he has some balls though. last year in chicago he took a puck to the chest that knocked the wind out of him, then missed a hit and hit lower back first into boards and kept playing. he missed a shift or two but damn it gained my respect and kept playing even though providence was getting killed.

[MrFrost]

Hes a tough dman for sure. Not a fighter who looks for it but will stick up for the team. He was pretty scrappy on Lake Erie.

[clydefrog]

looked up his fights on youtube...pretty good scraps.

[KOd]

Yet another of Francois Giguere's brilliant moves. With all the Avs' injuries last season, Boychuk would have been in the line-up for at least have the Avs' games.