Boychuk is the victim of a numbers game with the Hurricanes. Bringing in Semin and Staal added two additional top 6 skaters to the lineup. To earn a spot in the top nine he needed to beat out Zac Dalpe and Drayson Bowman and thus far has not been able to get into the lineup except for the season opener. Both Dalpe and Bowman have been great so far, therefore to get Boychuk minutes the Hurricanes are trying to sneak him back to Charlotte.
At the end of last season the Hurricanes tried him in the top six with Staal but Boychuk eventually lost the spot to Tlusty. He's been given opportunities to play in the top six but he has failed to put up any numbers.
He's a tenacious little player but not physical. He gets in on the forecheck but to expect him to crash and bang is too much. Boychuk can't carry a scoring line, but he could be a nice complementary winger. My issue is with Sven, Hudler, Cervenka, and Cammalleri the Flames are small up front and Boychuk would be another diminutive forward. It will be interesting if he gets claimed.
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