CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Brian Boyle called it "the most rewarding thing ever" to be able to share hockey with his children.
Boyle, 37, is a father to three children: Declan, who turns 7 next month, Bella, who turns 5 next month, and Callum, who was born this season in January.
Declan and Isabella are two years older than they were during their dad's last season of NHL hockey, after Boyle didn't play anywhere professionally last year. Declan, Boyle's oldest, is now at the age where he's able to understand more of what his dad does for a living and show real interest.
And Declan really likes hockey.
Boyle said that it was only a year or so ago that Declan was scared to go to the rink, and that his favorite part of hockey was the part where he got a snack after. During Boyle's time away from the NHL last season, he saw his son really start to grow to love playing the sport. And now that Boyle is back on an NHL team with the Penguins, he's seen his son grow into a real fan too. Boyle had to laugh earlier in the season when he gave his son a Penguins jersey, and saw the disappointment in his son's face when he turned the jersey around and saw "Boyle 11" on the back. He was hoping for a Sidney Crosby jersey.
Crosby may be Declan's favorite player, but Boyle is Declan's favorite mini-sticks teammate.
"Every time I walk in the door, he won't even let me give my wife a hug and kiss," Boyle said on Friday. "He wants to play. It's always hockey. And if it's raining outside, it's mini-sticks. And if he gets tired of that, it's Xbox, NHL. He loves the game. He has the Penguins app on his iPad, he watches postgame interviews. It is so rewarding for me to see that."
It's Boyle's love for the game -- and love for now being able to share the game with his children -- that has him still playing at 37 as one of the oldest players in the league. It's what helped him make it through what he called a "tough" last year, training on his own in hopes of eventually earning another NHL opportunity.
There's no one else on the Penguins this season who better exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
It's why Boyle was the near-unanimous choice to be the Penguins nominee for the Masterton Trophy this year, as voted on by the members of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
Boyle will join the nominees from the league's 31 other teams in a league-wide round of voting by the PHWA to determine the winner of the award, which will be announced along with the rest of the NHL Awards between Games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.
It's an award Boyle has taken home before.
Boyle previously won the Masterton in 2018 as a member of the Devils. It was during training camp that season that Boyle was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia, a type of bone marrow cancer. After making his season debut in November that year, he went on to score 10 goals in his first 25 games and be named to the All-Star Game.
"That was a tough, tough year, obviously, for a number of different reasons," Boyle reflected. "I remember times during that year, I was pretty low. And the league brought me up. Different guys, different people."
Boyle called it "inspiring" to follow the stories of other Masterton nominees and winners over the years. He noted Oskar Lindblom, who won the award last year after being diagnosed with cancer in the 2019-20 season and returning for the 2020-21 season. He also noted Robin Lehner, who won the award in 2019 after publicly speaking about his struggles with alcoholism and bipolar disorder the year before. Boyle also noted Craig Anderson, who won the award in 2017, who returned to the Senators after leaving mid-season to be with his wife during her battle with cancer.
"You've seen people triumph over a lot of dark days," Boyle said. "Whether it be crazy injuries, or guys who just love the game, and you're inspired. Everybody is so inspiring."
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Brian Boyle.
It probably would be fair to say that Boyle has defied expectations this season.
Boyle came into training camp in September on a tryout contract. His only organized team play was in the World Championship the previous spring, when he captained Team USA to a bronze medal. Most of the year was spent working on his own, re-using old drills he learned throughout his NHL career, and putting in time with a team of trainers in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
At the time Boyle came in on that professional tryout contract, it seemed like he'd maybe be a serviceable 13th forward, someone who at least wouldn't be a major liability if he was needed in the lineup.
He's been much more than that.
"We felt he was a guy that was just a conscientious player," Mike Sullivan recalled Friday of his expectations for Boyle in training camp. "He was trustworthy, reliable, he could help us in the faceoff circle. A good defensive player makes us harder to play against. And he's lived up to all of those expectations and then some. We didn't anticipate that he was going to score 10-plus goals for us. And that's a credit to Brian and how hard he's worked to maintain his game at a high level."
Boyle has been in the Penguins' lineup more often than not this season, skating in 65 of the team's 80 games thus far. He's contributed 10 goals and 19 points, and some of those goals have been some pretty skilled plays, none more so than this one against the Coyotes in January:
"I didn’t know he could bend that way still," Boyle's former Boston College teammate J.D. Forrest told me after that goal. "Pretty impressive for the big guy."
Pretty impressive, indeed.
While Boyle at least exceeded the team's expectations when it came to his offensive contributions, it wouldn't be fair to say Boyle exceeded his own expectations. He believed that all that work he put in last season would pay off on the ice.
"I think you just have to have that belief in yourself," he said. "If you don't, the league is too hard, the guys are too good, I think that's step one. You really have to believe in yourself. You have to commit to something and trust that you can do it, put the work in. I think I did that."
That's not to say it came easy.
"It was harder," Boyle said. "The beginning of the year was hard. There were some days that it was tough just from being out for so long. But I think we've been coached well, put in a spot where I can play to my strengths. And I expect to try to keep improving, to be honest with you."
He expects to keep sharing the game with his children as they grow older, too.
Boyle said that his four-year-old daughter Bella "doesn't have much interest" in hockey yet, laughing that it was "unfortunate, because she's probably the most gifted" at skating. He's holding out hope that four-month-old Callum will grow up to love the game, too.
"Hopefully -- I don't know if I can play six more years -- but Cal, I think he'll follow in brother's footsteps."
The dedication to hockey is something that runs in the family.
