There are plenty of polite terms for hockey players like Boll, including policeman, role player, physical presence and sparkplug.
Whatever one calls the Charlotte, N.C., native, the rugged right wing comes to the rink every game armed with a very particular set of skills. They are skills he does not hesitate to use for the sole purpose of creating space for, and protecting, his teammates.
There are plenty of polite terms for hockey players like Boll, including policeman, role player, physical presence and sparkplug.
Whatever one calls the Charlotte, N.C., native, the rugged right wing comes to the rink every game armed with a very particular set of skills. They are skills he does not hesitate to use for the sole purpose of creating space for, and protecting, his teammates.
A fourth-round pick (No. 101) of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2005 NHL Draft, Boll made his NHL debut on Oct. 5, 2007, against the Anaheim Ducks. His 3:35 of ice time and 15 penalty minutes proved a harbinger of things to come. Boll, who scored his first NHL goal in his third game, on Oct. 10, 2007, ranked second in the League with 226 penalty minutes in 2007-08.
A willing initiator of contact, Boll finished no lower than second in hits among Blue Jackets forwards in his first three seasons while also leading the team in penalty minutes each season.
In 2008-09, Boll scored four goals and 14 points in 75 games for the first playoff team in Blue Jackets history. He got his first taste of NHL postseason action in the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs in Game 1 of the first-round series against the Detroit Red Wings. When Columbus made the playoffs for a second time in 2014, Boll played in the first and final games of the Blue Jackets' six-game, first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
During the 2014-15 season, Boll again led the Blue Jackets in penalty minutes with 109. He recorded his 1,027th career penalty minute on Oct. 9, 2014, against the Buffalo Sabres, to pass Jody Shelley as the franchise's all-time leader.
On Nov. 17, 2015, Boll became the fifth player in Blue Jackets history to play 500 games with the franchise. After the 2015-16 season, Columbus bought out the final year of his contract, and on July 5, 2016, Boll signed a two-year contract with the Anaheim Ducks.
Boll's limited scoring role in the NHL was preceded by a stellar two-year junior career with Plymouth of the Ontario Hockey League. In the 2006-07 season, Boll scored 28 goals and 55 points in 66 games and added six goals and 10 points in 20 postseason games to help Plymouth win the OHL championship.
