Last season, I gave New York Islanders defenseman, Johnny Boychuk, a C+ for his yearly grade. As one of Boychuk’s biggest cheerleaders, it was painful but justified. This season was markedly better for Boychuk and that makes this year so much easier.
Numbers wise, Boychuk finished pretty much on par with last season with six goals and 17 assists. He finished on the plus side of the ledger and when diving in advanced stats he was the Islanders most consist defenseman.
With not much movement in the numbers, what makes this season different from the last when Boychuk was seen as a disappointment?