NHL athlete Brian Boyle, age 34, signed a two-year contract with the New Jersey Devils on July 1, 2017. However, Boyle was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. He underwent treatment and succeeded in his battle against the disease. He scored ten goals in his first 25 games and went on to represent the Devils at the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Game. His perseverance and sportsmanship were recognized when he was awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy as the second member of the Devils to do so. The Devils’ general manager Ray Shero thanked Boyle, noting that “His leadership, dedication and determination served as an inspiration to the entire organization, on and off the ice.” During most of his career, Boyle played as a center, but recently he has also tried out other positions, including defense.

The records in Boyle’s career are quite impressive. In his 12th NHL season, he has 13 goals and 19 points. And in this season, he has 88 hits in 47 games that he has played with the Devils. He was originally drafted 26th overall by Los Angeles in the 2003 draft held in Nashville, and he has played 740 career NHL games with 211 points. He also has blocked a total of 513 shots and 1,498 hits. He played in the Stanley Cup Final in 2014 with the New York Rangers and in 2015 with Tampa Bay. Moreover, Boyle has scored more power plays than anyone on the Nashville roster: Boyle scored five power-play goals last season and six this season. Thus, Boyle seemed like a great candidate for the Nashville Predators during the draft pick.

The Nashville Predators have been looking to fill the void caused by their loss of three players: defenseman Anthony Bitetto, forward Austin Watson, and forward Zac Rinaldo. The Predators’ general manager David Poile wanted to have larger players in his lineup. He satisfied this desire by selecting Boyle (6 feet and 6 inches; 245 pounds) and Cody McLeod (6 feet and 2 inches; 245 pounds) in a second round draft pick.