Anaheim Ducks: Is It Time to Bring up Kevin Boyle?
The immense responsibility John Gibson took on at the beginning of the season is taking its toll. Could Kevin Boyle be the answer to the Anaheim Ducks problems?
Today I want to take a deep dive into a hypothetical question regarding the Anaheim Ducks that was brought up in a conversation I had yesterday with my goalie coach after one of my private lessons.
The basis of our conversation stemmed mostly from the fact that we were talking about what’s been going on with John Gibson and the nosedive his play has taken lately. Now, I’m a huge Gibson fan. He proves night in and night out that he’s one of the league’s best goalies and should be recognized as such. As of late, however, Gibson has not been the Atlas that the Ducks had at the beginning of the season. He’s broken and as dramatic as it sounds, it’s the truth.
I usually don’t go out of my way to defend a player online, but with Gibson it’s different. As a goaltender that hasn’t had a whole lot of success in his short career, I know what it’s like to just be so over having to come out knowing you’re going to have to work your tail off and fend off an onslaught of shots every night. It’s rough.
There’s this helpless feeling you get deep down that eats away at your mind that makes you feel like you’re not doing enough. The writing was on the walls prior to the St. Louis game, but this stretch has shown everyone that John Gibson is, in fact, the sole reason the Anaheim Ducks had any success at the start of the season.
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After all of this Gibson talk, my coach mentioned that he believes Boyle should get a call-up. Part of me was kind of feels like, yes, I want to see him up as much as the next guy.
Nevertheless, the Anaheim Ducks have such a backlog of goalies that it just seems like it’d be way too hard to justify playing him over Ryan Miller or Chad Johnson unless they’re shipped somewhere. That seems super unlikely. But, I like his thinking. Boyle has been tearing it up for the scorching hot San Diego Gulls.
Since December 15th, Boyle’s lost two games. Two. Just let that sink in for a moment. Is it really going to translate into the NHL? Especially given the fact that Boyle has no NHL experience? Honestly, probably not. But, what do we have to lose?
There’s no chance we’re making the playoffs, so why not give the kid some time? He’s been lights out and who knows, a fresh face in net, that’s riding a pretty impressive stretch of games, could be the spark that gets the team back on the right foot.
I’ve been of the opinion that the farm needs to take priority if we really want to “re-tool” properly. Especially in the goaltending department. Signing guys like Miller and Johnson can only get you so far. A bandaid doesn’t fix a cut, it’s your body that heal’s the wound from the inside. That’s exactly how the relationship between the big club and farm should be.
Guys like Connor Hellebuyck, Juuse Saros, Jordan Binnington, etc. all come to mind using this comparison because they exemplify everything I mean by it. They’re all homegrown talent that was called upon when they were needed and have excelled into quality NHL goaltenders.
At the end of the day, do I really think this is something the Anaheim Ducks would consider? No. Mostly because management is doing a such an absolutely wonderful job of being 100% transparent in telling us their intentions with the direction of this team (sarcasm).
I’d rather him stay where he’s comfortable and help San Diego ride into the playoffs and play for the Calder Cup. But hey, the team has got to start somewhere with the Ducklings and considering this season is pretty much a lost cause, why not now?
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