Boyle feels 'awesome' heading into Devils training camp
Forward, diagnosed with leukemia in September, eager to get started
The New Jersey Devils forward was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia after a training camp physical in September, a few weeks before being told his son, Declan, then 2 years old, might have cancer. Boyle played his first game Nov. 1, starting a season that included an NHL All-Star Game appearance, a trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Devils, and the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, given for perseverance and dedication to hockey.
As for this season, he's just ready to get started.
"It's something that when I'm out here," Boyle said Wednesday after a game in the Foxboro Pro League, "if I don't make a play that I should make, the same frustrations happen on this as they do every other time I've played, which I think is a really good sign."
But that doesn't mean that the concern is gone.
"If you get tired one night a little quicker than you're used to, you get a little panicked," the 33-year-old said. "That's all part of it. I think that's normal and that's probably a good thing to have in terms of how you feel going into each season and the life of your career."
For now, Boyle is heading to see his doctors every three months for the foreseeable future. His last appointment was Tuesday at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, where he had an important test, with the results expected back in 10 days. He called it one of the more "deep diving" tests that he's required to take.
"We'll get that back, but all the counts and stuff look great," he said. "I feel great. I really do. I feel awesome. So that's kind of the No. 1 thing."
But that's not all that Boyle wants this season to be about, not all he wants to focus on heading into camp. He said he hopes not to get so much attention and that the spotlight is on forwards Taylor Hall, Nico Hischier and the rest of the Devils, who have increasingly high expectations.
"We need to take a step forward and we need to understand how difficult that's going to be as a team," said Boyle, who had 23 points (13 goals, 10 assists) in 69 games last season. "So each individual has to come in and take care of what you can in the summertime. So that's what I'm trying to do."
With that comes the same yearly anxiety entering training camp next month, the questions about whether he's in good enough shape, whether he's ready for the rigors of an NHL season. "Because I don't have an excuse now," he said.
"As a guy who's played a lot, but on still a relatively inexperienced team, I think I have to come in and show what I wasn't able to do last year in training camp," Boyle said. "Whether I could control it or not, I didn't go to camp."
It was right around this time last year that Boyle began to feel off. He knew something wasn't quite right but couldn't pinpoint what it was.
"I started feeling a little sluggish, thinking, 'OK, maybe I'm dehydrated or something,'" he said. "It got worse every day."
This time, Boyle said that he's ahead of where he normally is in early August. Part of that comes from a shorter-than-usual stay in the playoffs, where the Devils lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in the Eastern Conference First Round (it was their first appearance in six seasons and his eighth in 11). Part of that comes from having two kids, one 3 years old, one 14 months, who have him up earlier and in bed earlier than he may have been in the past.
Boyle doesn't know what will happen in training camp or this season, or whether the Devils will take the step forward they're hoping for. But for now, he said he's happy with where he is and that he's not putting pressure on himself.
"If I learned anything last year, you just can't predict what's going to happen. We're just trying to get better in the offseason. We're trying to get our son better," Boyle said, referencing Declan's arteriovenous malformation of the jaw, a rare condition that impacts blood flow and oxygen circulation (that diagnosis came after doctors said Declan might have a cancerous tumor). "And trying to enjoy all of life's moments right now. I very much enjoy playing and I very much enjoy doing what I do.
"I feel a lot better obviously at this point than I did last year. Right now, as far as I'm concerned, I feel better than I have in a really long time, so it's something that I'm excited about. But as far as expectations go? I don't really have any. I'm going to train as hard as I can, enjoy these little skates we have, go home for dinner and enjoy dinner with the kids and my wife."
