Tuesday night, nearly 24 hours removed from his NHL debut, Capitals 2011 sixth-round pick Travis Boyd thanked friends and family on Twitter for their support during his long journey to the NHL.
Being able to play in the NHL last night was a dream come true! Thank you to everyone that has helped me throughout the years to make this dream possible! #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/43Gb2zNloz
— Travis Boyd (@Tboyd93) December 6, 2017
Boyd had a rather inconspicuous game against the San Jose Sharks, playing the least amount of minutes on the Capitals (9:10) and recording only one shot on goal. But it remained a huge accomplishment nonetheless. According to TSN, sixth-round picks have approximately a 15% chance of becoming an NHL player. Boyd has spent parts of four seasons in AHL Hershey waiting for the call.
The Capitals pulled out all the stops for Boyd. Like Nathan Walker and countless other young players before him, Boyd got the rookie treatment from his teammates. Capitals players tricked Boyd into skating around the ice solo before the rest of the team came out for warmups.
Travis Boyd gets his “Welcome To The NHL” solo skate moment. See Travis and the Caps try and take a bite out of the #SJSharks at 7 with @JoeBpXp and @Laughlin18 on @NBCSWashington #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/wGypfhWZRj
— Al Koken (@RealSmokinAl) December 4, 2017
Boyd was also asked to do the team’s first intermission interview with NBC Sports Washington’s Al Koken.
Travis Boyd to @RealSmokinAl on his NHL debut: "It's obviously a dream come true to be out there playing in a regular season NHL game. Beyond ecstatic. Hopefully I got the nerves out and can just go out there and play hockey for the rest of the game." pic.twitter.com/qImzCYNNqc
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) December 5, 2017
Boyd’s parents, Brian and Jody, brother, girlfriend Kelsey, daughter Hayden, and other family members were all in attendance for the game.
Photo: @Tboyd93
Travis Boyd's family in the house pic.twitter.com/6jDCPbVZmZ
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) December 5, 2017
Gotta love the big smile welcome to the NHL Travis Boyd #CapsSharks pic.twitter.com/64qIpGj2r7
— FriendsinColdPlaces (@inColdPlacesDC) December 5, 2017
First Game Feels. @Tboyd93 #CapsSharks #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/Hw9UbnPSHW
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 5, 2017
With TJ Oshie out, Boyd will play again Wednesday night against the Chicago Blackhawks on national TV.
Boyd had played in 176 straight games for the Bears. That is the longest current streak in the AHL. Boyd was Hershey’s Team MVP in 2016-17, skated in the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic, and was named to the 2016-17 AHL Second All-Star Team.
Headline photo: @Capitals
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