The NHL preseason is upon us! After a long summer, we will finally see forest green on the ice again when the Minnesota Wild take on the Winnipeg Jets on September 21.
Still, despite the enthusiasm around hockey returning, the preseason isn’t exactly fertile ground for excitement. NHL camp is an opportunity for the players to tune up and for some prospects to gain experience.
The preseason also always has one other exciting storyline: Veteran players on two-way contracts hoping to make the team. The Wild appear to have solidified their starting roster, but some spots could be up for grabs as healthy scratches or change-of-pace players near the bottom of the lineup.
Minnesota native Travis Boyd is one player hoping to fill a spot
Travis Boyd’s Path To Minnesota
Travis Boyd inked his contract with the Wild on July 1 in a slew of two-way contract depth signings. The veteran forward spent the last three seasons with the Arizona Coyotes, playing essential minutes on a team that lacked high-end talent. Unfortunately, Boyd missed the final 60 games of the 2023-24 season after tearing a pectoral muscle.
Coming off a significant injury is difficult for any athlete, let alone one who is 30 and signing two-way contracts. Boyd’s path to Minnesota may represent a joyous homecoming for the Gopher alum and Hopkins native. However, he must prove the injury is in the past if he wants to make the team out of preseason.
Making the Wild
As mentioned, the path to making the Wild this year is tough. They look like they’ve assembled most of their roster before camp starts. Of Minnesota's 14 forwards listed as roster players, 9 make over $2 million and are on one-way contracts. Of the five that aren’t, three are seemingly guaranteed locks to make the team: Marat Khusnutdinov, Liam Ohgren, and Marco Rossi.
With 12 spots already spoken for, the competition to make the team will be tough. The prospect of making the team as a forward becomes even more dire when you consider that the Wild have broken camp with just 12 forwards on the roster the last two seasons.
A player must make a great impression during the preseason to break into the Wild’s forward group this year. What does Travis Boyd bring to the team that may give him the inside track to do that?
Analyzing Boyd’s Game
Versatility
Boyd’s versatility is one of the most compelling attributes. His coaches have often complimented his versatile game. “He competes so hard and takes full advantage of the opportunity,” said Coyotes (now the Utah Hockey Club) head coach André Tourigny. “He’s one of our guys who plays really well without the puck as well. He’s good in our zone, and he has good skill offensively.”
Suppose Boyd can show his scoring touch this preseason. Then his ability to bring depth-scoring to the Wild would be appealing, especially for a team that struggled to get consistent scoring out of the bottom of its lineup.
Depth Scoring
Boyd has scored 118 points (47 goals, 71 assists) in his NHL career, a respectable total for a depth player. His career high came in 2022-23 when he scored 34 points for Arizona. Minnesota won’t give him the minutes the Coyotes did, though. So, what processes does Boyd use to produce his scoring numbers? Would he be able to replicate them with fewer minutes?
Getting to the Dirty Areas
When you look at where Boyd shoots and scores from, it's clear that one of his strengths as an offensive player is getting to the net. His penchant for driving the net is particularly impressive for a player whose stature isn't one of the most outstanding in the game. Boyd is 6'0”, 183 lbs., but he's dominant at getting to high-danger areas. Let's look at his offensive chart of shots and goals from the 2022-23 season (his last full season).
Note: All statistics sourced from moneypuck.com
It’s important to note that in 2022-23, Boyd carried the most offensive responsibility in his career. However, this type of chart also represents his other seasons.
Boyd’s approach to scoring has also rendered some impressive results regarding his shooting metrics. Looking at his last three seasons, it’s clear that Boyd’s net-front presence is productive for his scoring stats.
You can see that Boyd often registers a higher shooting percentage than expected. However, his shooting talent above average is even more impressive.
Shooting talent above average is "a player's ability to score more goals than an average player given the same scoring opportunities." Boyd's shooting talent above average stat shows that he gets to dangerous areas and is also efficient with his chances once he gets there. In Boyd’s case, his high shooting percentages are a product of the areas he gets to on the ice.
Holes in Boyd’s Game
Boyd isn’t a perfect player, of course. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be signing one-year, two-way contracts. It’s crucial to pinpoint some areas the forward could improve during the preseason to show why he belongs on the team. Boyd’s biggest red flag as a player comes from his relatively poor defensive and possession metrics.
Before reading too deeply into these numbers, let’s acknowledge that Boyd has played for the Coyotes for the last three years. Arizona’s lack of high-end talent has skewed his defensive and possession metrics.
With a Wild team that has significantly invested in building their back end, perhaps his defensive fortunes could change. Still, it’s difficult to look past that Boyd consistently has an on-ice expected goals percentage under 50% and relatively poor possession metrics.
Will Boyd Make the Team?
We are currently projecting Boyd to make the team out of camp as a healthy scratch. This forecast means he’ll likely be one of the final players to solidify their spot on the team or one of the last sent down to Iowa. Even if Boyd starts in Iowa, it isn’t difficult to imagine he’ll see some games with the Wild.
Boyd’s experience playing up and down the lineup is valuable. His depth scoring could also be a factor for a team that had difficulty getting goals from the bottom of the lineup last season. Boyd also seems to ingratiate himself with the coaching staff regularly. No one is saying Boyd will be a top-six piece for the team, but that isn’t expected from a depth pickup. The preseason is the perfect time for players like Boyd to showcase that they can be an asset to a team.
Assuming Boyd recovers from his injury, he could be a decent pickup for the Wild’s depth next season. A strong showing in the preseason would go a long way in showcasing what the Minnesota native can provide for the team.
