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By Joe Gordon
Friday, January 23, 2004
Bruins defenseman Nick Boynton thought he was in the doghouse when he was summoned to coach Mike Sullivan's office prior
to last night's 3-2 loss to Buffalo at the FleetCenter. Instead,
he wound up in the penthouse, having been added as a nonstarter to the Eastern Conference team for the NHL All-Star Game Feb.
8 in Minnesota.
``I was a little worried about what I was going into Sully's office for,'' Boynton
said with a smile. ``I was really nervous. I get nervous in those situations, but it turned out to be all right.''
Boynton, 25, is in his third full season with the B's but has played parts of five
campaigns. This marks the Nobleton, Ontario, native's second NHL All-Star appearance, having been selected to compete in the
Young Stars game in his rookie season of 2002.
``That was a lot of fun, but this is going to be a little bit different,'' Boynton
said in comparing his last trip to the All-Star festivities. ``It's a little bit bigger. But it'll be fun. ``It's something you kind of dream about as a kid. I'm real honored. I didn't expect
it. It makes me wonder who's picking the team.''
Boynton joins injured B's captain Joe Thornton, who was selected in fan balloting as
one of six starters on the Eastern Conference squad. Boynton was selected along with the other nonstarters by the NHL Operations
department in conjunction with the 30 general managers in the league.
``I'm thrilled for Nick,'' Sullivan said. ``He's made a great contribution. There can
be a tendency to undervalue a player like Nick because he doesn't post big numbers. But he contributes to the team winning.''
Boynton currently leads all Boston blueliners with 16 points on 2-14-16 totals with
a plus-6 rating and 61 penalty minutes in 48 games. The 6-foot-2, 211-pound Boynton, who has missed just six games since breaking
in as a regular three seasons ago, was the B's first-round draft choice (21st overall) in 1999 after completing four years
of junior hockey in the OHL with Ottawa.
``I just try to be an all-around defenseman and just work hard at everything,'' Boynton
said.
Also selected as defensemen yesterday were Adrian Aucoin of the Islanders, Wade Redden
of Ottawa and Sheldon Souray of Montreal. They join starters Scott Niedermayer and Scott Stevens of New Jersey.
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