Travis boyd

[mclovinu]

why was he playing defense at the adv.15 tryouts?I thought he looked average at best;maybe he wasnt feeling well because he looked outstanding when i watched a couple of games this winter.

[Pucknutz69]

He didn't impress me at the Gopher State festival. He must have had a lot of help at Hopkins this year.

[Dazed&Confused]

Whats going on Pucknutz!

[gmailer]

Travis had a great season for Hopkins. Making the jump from PeeWees to Varsity and playing Edina, Minnetonka, Wayzata and Armstrong in the Classic Lake was a great accomplishment.

He played on a like-minded line of small, quick players who, while they couldn't dominate a zone physically were able to counterattack with speed and snipe like few others. He got drilled a few times early in the season but bounced right back and kept at it. If the opponent made a mistake, it was usually going the other way on a breakaway or 2 on 1. A line-mate had his femur broken by a knee from a Wayzata player just before sections or Hopkins might have gotten that goal it needed against Minnetonka in the section semis.

Had a great sense of the game and where to be to pick up garbage or receive a pass. And finished. There are some clips of some goals at www.myfoxhockey.com in the archives that show some action. Here is the link to the archive, then scroll down to Hopkins v Woodbury 2 on 1 goal, and there are a couple of others:

http://www.foxhilitestwincities.com/Vid ... px?cat=241

[Pucknutz69]

That sums it up very nicely, gmailer. My question is Do you think it will continue for him or will we see a drop off when he loses his bigger support? Will he be a player that will carry the load?

[Can't Never Tried]

I'm not going to take anything away from the young man here, because playing a regular shift in AA HS varsity hockey at the 8th grade is impressive.

But having seen him play on a couple occasions, my biggest impression is that he seems to be in the right place to take advantage of opportunities that come his way.
I never really saw him really create any situations, but teams need players that can do both.

The other impression I got was he's got some growing to do, so that he can be effective in the corners, but at 8th grade there's plenty of time for that.

My other thought is was he impressive enough to replace another 9th,10th,11th, or 12th grader??? to me it seems odd, and eludes to there being more to it.

But hey he did pretty good!

[Papa Bergundy]

I'm not going to take anything away from the young man here, because playing a regular shift in AA HS varsity hockey at the 8th grade is impressive.

But having seen him play on a couple occasions, my biggest impression is that he seems to be in the right place to take advantage of opportunities that come his way.
I never really saw him really create any situations, but teams need players that can do both.

The other impression I got was he's got some growing to do, so that he can be effective in the corners, but at 8th grade there's plenty of time for that.

My other thought is was he impressive enough to replace another 9th,10th,11th, or 12th grader??? to me it seems odd, and eludes to there being more to it.

But hey he did pretty good!

Yes he did do well even though i am not a fan of there weak non-conference schedule. Anytime an 8th grade can score 40+ points in AA is very impressive. I think he had a hattrick in the first round of sections this year? Also a big accomplishment. I think he will grow some size and muscle and develop in to a much more complete player, should be fun to watch him grow.

[gmailer]

Pucknutz69, Travis obviously has some size and strength to add, but given that he has 4 more years to play high school hockey, I think that is likely to happen. His older brother has good size, so if he grows similarly he could be a real force in the future. He already has speed, skills and hockey sense--the only thing he lacks now is the size and strength that boys tend to put on between ages 14 and 18. He benefitted also from being on a good line with Archie Skalbeck and Joe Groom, but that's true of a lot of players on good lines, e.g., Everson, Barnes, etc.

rbk, his mother has nothing to do with stats. She's a trainer and that's it. Remember the goals and assists are awarded by the referees.

Papa, I don't think anyone thought Hopkins would have as good a year as they did. Hopkins lost to a lot of those same teams the year before. Had they known how good their 8th grader and a couple of sophomores would be, a schedule upgrade would have been a good idea. I think some Lake Conf schools will be on the schedule next year. Hard to schedule Lake teams when they play so few non-conference games. That's why the Lake and Classic Lake should have merged and reshuffled into two divisions a few years ago when Cooper and St. Louis Park left the Classic Lake. The Lake Conference said no and the MSHSL doesn't intervene until there are fewer than 5 teams in a conference. I think that decision had more to do with BB and football than hockey, but it makes no sense to have a 12 team conference and a 5 team conference next door to each other.

[gmailer]

Nice guess, but I'm no relation. I think it is likely a lot of coaches, players and parents try to make sure the refs "get it right." I've seen coaches correct mistakes in tabulations and stats all the time. Horrors. Getting it right is an awful thing.

[scotsmen76]

Hopkins would of been a .500 team with a real schedule. Skalbeck is the one that made the line go. Boyd has a chance but only if he leaves Hopkins to get real coaching. Groom was a floater who finished now and then on breakaways. He would of made no impact in the sections. The games got more physical and he disapeared when that happened. As long as Fons is around they will stay competitive.

[Tony Soprano]

scotsmen76, sounds like you are a disgruntled player or parent in Hopkins. "Only if he leaves Hopkins to get better coaching", go ahead and get it all out. I do agree that as long as Fons is around they will be competitive.

[gmailer]

No question Skalbeck and Fons were keys to Hopkins this year, or that Skalbeck made that line go (which is I guess what a center is supposed to do). I'm just saying that since this thread was talking about Boyd, in my opinion he's the real deal. Not ready for the NHL, but I'd sure take his upside on my team.

Don't agree Hopkins would be .500 with a "real schedule". Ten of 27 games were against Classic Lake opponents, and the only teams they lost to were top rated or near top rated Edina and Tonka, two of those losses coming in overtime or on a late 3rd period goal. And they beat Tonka one of three. They also thumped Northwest Suburban conference champ Anoka (21-7) 5-1, and beat state qualifier/Suburban East conference champ Woodbury (24-7) 7-4, putting 7 goals up on an all-state goalie.

[Papa Bergundy]

[/quote]Papa, I don't think anyone thought Hopkins would have as good a year as they did. Hopkins lost to a lot of those same teams the year before. Had they known how good their 8th grader and a couple of sophomores would be, a schedule upgrade would have been a good idea. I think some Lake Conf schools will be on the schedule next year. Hard to schedule Lake teams when they play so few non-conference games. That's why the Lake and Classic Lake should have merged and reshuffled into two divisions a few years ago when Cooper and St. Louis Park left the Classic Lake. The Lake Conference said no and the MSHSL doesn't intervene until there are fewer than 5 teams in a conference. I think that decision had more to do with BB and football than hockey, but it makes no sense to have a 12 team conference and a 5 team conference next door to each other.[/quote]

I agree the classic lake/lake setup is not right, however, other teams in the classic lake found a way to create very tough schedules. Tonka and Edina have very tough schedules and Wayzata is recognized as playing the toughest schedule in the state this year. But I still see Hopkins playing very mediocre teams when they clearly have the can do better. I hope you're right and challenge themselves a little more this coming season.

[Wireless]

Boyd is young, so he deserves some slack. However, I saw a number of Hopkins games this season and other recent games....he's not impressive yet. He may end up being a strong HS player, but he is not a player I will look at for at least the the next couple of years.

I would not expect him to have a 20 + goal season for a while.

[wbmd]

Boyd is young, so he deserves some slack. However, I saw a number of Hopkins games this season and other recent games....he's not impressive yet. He may end up being a strong HS player, but he is not a player I will look at for at least the the next couple of years.

I would not expect him to have a 20 + goal season for a while.

Yet he had 22 goals this past season.

[Wireless]

You could be right - in fact, I hope you are and this kid has great season's for years to come.

It's my perspective that he's young and makes a great deal of mistakes. Let's face it, Hopkin's played one team that ended up in the state tournament. His best performance was against Minnetonka in early January. He scored a majority of his goals against very average teams.

[wbmd]

You could be right - in fact, I hope you are and this kid has great season's for years to come.

It's my perspective that he's young and makes a great deal of mistakes. Let's face it, Hopkin's played one team that ended up in the state tournament. His best performance was against Minnetonka in early January. He scored a majority of his goals against very average teams.

Still pretty good for an 8th grader against varsity competition.

[scoreboard33]

You could be right - in fact, I hope you are and this kid has great season's for years to come.

It's my perspective that he's young and makes a great deal of mistakes. Let's face it, Hopkin's played one team that ended up in the state tournament. His best performance was against Minnetonka in early January. He scored a majority of his goals against very average teams.

I'm pretty sure both Edina and Woodbnury played in state and Hopkins played Edina twice. 3 games vs. state teams. plus 3 more versus Tonka.

[Gopher Blog]

Pucknutz69, Travis obviously has some size and strength to add, but given that he has 4 more years to play high school hockey, I think that is likely to happen. His older brother has good size, so if he grows similarly he could be a real force in the future. He already has speed, skills and hockey sense--the only thing he lacks now is the size and strength that boys tend to put on between ages 14 and 18.

I can agree with you on Boyd having very good hockey sense and some good stick skills. But speed? I'd have to disagree on that one. He is a very average skater at this point. He has plenty of time to work on that aspect (and his strength) but I think it is quite an exaggeration to make him out to be a speedy skater.

[Wireless]

You could be right - in fact, I hope you are and this kid has great season's for years to come.

It's my perspective that he's young and makes a great deal of mistakes. Let's face it, Hopkin's played one team that ended up in the state tournament. His best performance was against Minnetonka in early January. He scored a majority of his goals against very average teams.

I'm pretty sure both Edina and Woodbnury played in state and Hopkins played Edina twice. 3 games vs. state teams. plus 3 more versus Tonka.

And how did he do? 1 goal. Don't get to excited about an 8th grader player since things change a great deal as kids develop. And, I agree with Gopher Blog - very average skating sills at this point.

[puck81]

I don't care who the kid's team played this past season. If he can play varsity hockey in Minnesota at 8th grade he must be pretty damn good. How many of you guys played as an 8th grader at the varsity level? Sour grapes perhaps? As for his size and speed, give the kid a break he is only in 8th grade. He is going to get bigger and stronger as he mature's.

[pondyplayer93]

So this kid went from peewees to high school varsity? Thats pretty amazing! I figured he would have played at least a year of bantams.

yeah but it was his 3rd year of peewees and was pretty much a 1st year bantam playing peewees

[hockeyman95]

Yea, it would be a shame for him to get an education

That's the biggest misconception in the world of high school, that private schools offer a much better education than publics. I've gone to both-the public school was as strong or stronger than the private school in terms of academics.

what private school did you go to.

[Hockeyguy_27]

Yea, it would be a shame for him to get an education

That's the biggest misconception in the world of high school, that private schools offer a much better education than publics. I've gone to both-the public school was as strong or stronger than the private school in terms of academics.

what private school did you go to.

I was a student in both private and public schools as well. I graduated from public high school but in my experience, there was no comparison; the private school was much more difficult--but the public school had more cute girls

[Bub]

Yea, it would be a shame for him to get an education

That's the biggest misconception in the world of high school, that private schools offer a much better education than publics. I've gone to both-the public school was as strong or stronger than the private school in terms of academics.

what private school did you go to.

Totem Town doesn't count as a private school.