Bruins forward has made big progress
Published 10:58 pm Thursday, December 25, 2014
Trevor Boyd has given the Austin Bruins a scoring boost this season. — Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
It hasn’t been an easy road for Bruins forward Trevor Boyd, but he’s finally where he wants to be.
Boyd is leading the Bruins with 28 points this season and he’s ranked 21st in the NAHL in that category. Those numbers a pretty good for an NAHL veteran who had just 32 points in his last two previous NAHL seasons combined.
“I haven’t really been a goal scorer since high school,” said Boyd, who has 14 goals and 14 assists this year. “But it’s good to get back into that role. It’s fun.”
Boyd, a native of Musekegon, Mich. was actually on Austin’s roster last season, but with a team loaded with talent, minutes were hard to come by. So he was traded to the Soo Eagles, where he put up a respectable 13 points in 34 games. This offseason, Boyd went to work and he was excited to get the chance to come back and play for the Bruins this season.
“I took it really serious in the offseason and we got off to a good start. I haven’t really looked back since,” Boyd, who is in his last year of junior hockey, said. “We’ve been kind of rolling lately and I’m just going to try and keep scoring.”
Austin head coach Chris Tok said that Boyd has become more consistent with his work ethic and that head helped him offensively. Boyd’s offense has been key for a Bruins team that was looking for scorers to step up and Tok is pleased with how much progress the 6-3, 200-pound forward has shown.
“Boyd’s journey is exactly what the NAHL is all about,” Tok said. “The league is giving an older player the time to mature into a dominant hockey player that would be a great addition to a Division I college hockey program.”
Boyd said the Bruins’ young team is starting to grow as the squad is in contention to finish atop the Central Division. Austin currently has 42 points, which puts it one point behind first place Minot.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys and I’m just trying to teach those guys how to play and what to expect,” Boyd said. “We’ve been winning and a lot of guys are stepping up and knowing how to prepare and compete.”
The Bruins will host Coulee Region Dec. 31 at 7:05 p.m.
