Brian Boyle on Hockey Fights Cancer, Lundqvist’s Lamborghini
Brian Boyle played 14 seasons in the NHL, forging a reputation as a passionate player who gave it all every game. He inspired the hockey world off the ice, too, during his battle with chronic myelogenous leukemia.
He announced he had been diagnosed with a form of blood and bone marrow cancer in Sept. 2017. He missed the first 10 games of the 2017-18 season but ended up played 69 games for the New Jersey Devils while undergoing treatment. Boyle was awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for “perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey” by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
Boyle scored his first goal after his diagnosis on Nov. 9, 2017, leading to an emotional moment for the veteran forward and the fans in the stands.
Almost a year later, Boyle had another incredible moment in his comeback: Tallying the first hat trick of his career on Nov. 5, 2018, against the Pittsburgh Penguins — on Hockey Fights Cancer night, no less. Around two weeks before that game, Boyle found out that he was in remission.
Boyle joined Arda Ocal on ESPN’s digital hockey show “The Drop” this week to talk about Hockey Fights Cancer, as well as his post-NHL life and what it was like to play with Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist on the New York Rangers. Note that the below transcript was edited for length and clarity. The full interview is available on all podcasting platforms and on the NHL on ESPN channel on YouTube.
The NHL, the Players’ Association, and the V Foundation are united in the fight against cancer. Together they are funding game-changing research to help achieve Victory Over Cancer. You can join them in this fight. Visit HockeyFightsCancer.com to donate now.
ESPN: How has the media side of things been going for you?
Boyle: I’m learning. I’m really trying to improve. I enjoy it very much, so that’s why I’m trying to get better at it. I get to watch a lot of hockey. We just had twins. We got a lot of kids running around, and I get to tell my wife “I have to work, I gotta watch these games.”
It’s still the game, and I love chatting about it. A former teammate of mine and good friend Cory Schneider jumped on the NHL Network, too. We were chopping it up one day and I think we’re gonna do a podcast. We would bounce things back and forth when we played together for the Devils, and his perspective was awesome. We’ve actually recorded a few. I think the name is the best part of the podcast so far: We’re gonna be called “The One-Time All-Stars.” Because we were both all-stars … once. It was gonna be that or “The Worst of the Best.”
ESPN: Speaking of goalies, Henrik Lundqvist just got inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. If you’re able to share, what is your favorite Henrik Lundqvist story?
Boyle: He had some pretty cool vehicles when he played, and he probably still does. When we were playing together, he had this gray Lamborghini. He had it detailed — made it matted, made it a little darker. In the back, where it says Lamborghini in cursive, I guess when he got it detailed the guy changed it to Lundqvist in cursive.
So he pulls up to the rink, and his name’s on the back of his car. And the guys just started giving it to him. We all took thick white hockey tape, put a couple layers down, and printed our names on the back of our own cars. And he was furious. He’d come in the room, and he’s like, “How come everybody always picks on me?”
He drives his Maserati the next couple days and then the Lamborghini. And now it says Lamborghini again. Didn’t say Lundqvist. He took it down. Meanwhile, us idiots are driving through Manhattan with our names on the back of our cars.
My favorite competitive story about Hank was at the end of practice. He’d like to take some breakaways. Every guy would go twice, and I think there were 16 guys in line. I remembered counting it because no one was scoring on him. On the last attempt, he stopped the first one. And I forget who scored, but the 32nd attempt went in. He was 31-for-32. And his stick came down on the crossbar with force, broke right in half, in a million pieces. He flipped the net on its end, said some a bunch of swears in Swedish and skated off the ice.
Guys were laughing but I was in awe of that. It’s not fake. That is what he expects from himself.
0:55
Henrik Lundqvist gets emotional thanking family during HOF speech
Henrik Lundqvist gets choked up talking about the support his family provided him during his hockey journey.
ESPN: Obviously, one of the big reasons we wanted to have you on was this month is Hockey Fights Cancer month. You have a spectacular journey. Not only just dealing with cancer as a human being, but also as an NHL player. And what happened on the ice in and around Hockey Fights Cancer month for you. There are two moments in particular. One was when you scored your first goal after your diagnosis. What do you remember about that?
Boyle: That one was interesting because my son had just gotten out of the hospital. He had a rare malformation in his jaw which was presenting like Ewing sarcoma. This was two or three weeks after I was diagnosed with leukemia. We didn’t know what was going on, but his jaw was enormous, and it was very scary.
We went to a couple places around the New York area, and then I said I have to take him up to Boston and the doctor. They told me this was cancer. I said, “We haven’t even done a biopsy yet.” I was doing all my own research, which is never good. It just added stress and panic. But I asked if it was an arteriovenous malformation instead. And they said it’s not, because it never crosses the midline of the jaw, ever. I said, “I think it’s that.” But they said it can’t be.
Anyway, he goes in. They open him up a little bit, and it turns out it’s an AVM. First human ever on record that had it where he had it. So the doctor comes back in. He’s crying, and I’m panicked even more now, and he tells me I was right. It’s not cancer and he couldn’t believe it. And me and this gentleman — Dr. Sal Afshar, an angel on earth — are embracing and we’re sobbing in each other’s arms.
[My son] has his first surgery. I leave day of the game. Fly down to Jersey, get into the game against the Oilers [on Nov. 9, 2017]. Something was working for me that day. I still get emotional talking about it: That celebration was a little bit with what I was going through, but more so [about] my son. It was a little tap on the shoulder from God being like, “Everything’s gonna be alright, man.” He had 13 more surgeries after that, so it wasn’t easy, but it was it was a real big moment for me, for a lot of reasons.
I was sobbing on the bench. My head was down and I was trying to get it together. It’s 100% my favorite goal I ever scored.
The crowd noise when that went in … they lifted me up more than they’ll ever know in Jersey. And it’s funny because I played in Jersey, and I played in New York, and that’s a big rivalry, and both fan bases mean so much to me.
ESPN: A year later you have a hat trick on Hockey Fights Cancer night with the Devils. The third goal was a one-timer. You were on one knee, and you stayed there for like an extra three seconds. What were you thinking in that exact moment?
Boyle: I was just like “Holy s—, it went in. I can’t believe this is happening again.” At Hockey Fights Cancer night that year, I scored against the Islanders. The game after the Edmonton game it was Hockey Fights Cancer night and I scored against Vancouver. It seemed like on Hockey Fights Cancer nights, I had a lot of success.
Two of the goals were tip-in goals. I didn’t think I touched the first one. Ben Lovejoy shot it. I’m like, “Lovy, that’s your goal.” So after I scored the third one, he comes over to me and says, “You better stop talking about this now. That’s your goal. This is too big. You gotta take it.”
ESPN: Do you ever look back on that night and be like, man, Hollywood couldn’t have scripted it better? Like everything you went through, your cancer is in remission. And then a week or two later, you have your first career hat trick in the NHL on Hockey Fights Cancer night?
Boyle: It was. My dad, who’s battled cancer for 20-plus years, was at the game because he was doing a talk in the area. He’s a miracle. He shouldn’t be alive. But he was cured miraculously. His cancer disappeared. We come from a real, strong Catholic faith. I’ve seen miracles happen. Everybody has different faith, and that’s great. And hopefully, people have faith. I think it’s been the biggest reason we’ve gotten out of this. A lot of a lot of bad things have happened to us, and we’ve gotten through it on the other side.
On Hockey Fights Cancer night, everyone [in the crowd] had their signs up. And a lot of signs had my name on it, which I couldn’t believe. But then you just look around at all the names. I got to meet a lot of people on those nights that were a lot worse off than I was, that had wonderful, amazing, heroic attitudes towards their diagnosis. They understand that it affects not just the patient, but their entire family.
Going through what I went through with my son, all those surgeries at the Children’s Hospital in Boston, you can get down sometimes. It is hard, and that’s OK. I looked around late at night if my son was awake and saw other children that had much harder fights.
I went down to get some food at the Children’s Hospital, and I saw a young girl, probably about four, and with her dad and her mom and her little brother, who was probably two. And the 2-year-old was the patient. The dad and the girl had to go home because the girl probably had school. The mom was going to stay with the little boy at the hospital. And the girl would not leave. She was sobbing, trying to hug her brother, didn’t want to leave him. And that’s when you realize that it affects everybody. And it was the saddest thing I’ve ever seen in that hospital.
Don’t forget the financial burdens it places on people. How important these [Hockey Fights Cancer] nights are to raise money and to try to raise funds for research, so this doesn’t happen to these young children. Because it is the most devastating, cruel thing I’ve ever seen.
ESPN: To that point this year in the NHL, there are no themed warm-up jerseys on the ice for things like Hockey Fights Cancer. What are your thoughts and what was your reaction when you heard that?
Boyle: It’s turned into something that it should never have been. It has turned into two sides pointing fingers. That’s the way it goes. But people will find reasons to make a bunch of noise. I think the Internet is gonna be our demise at some point.
For anyone going into a hockey rink who thinks they’re different and that they don’t belong there, I don’t think that’s OK. For anybody that has military ties, and they’re not really able to be proud of that, I don’t think that’s OK. For the Hockey Fights Cancer, if we have an opportunity to do something very small to benefit these people that I just spoke about that have it much worse off than we do, then I think you do it. We have the platform to do these things. We have the platform to make things better.
Hockey’s a hard game. It’s demanding. It’s physical. You hear all these stories about guys who fought and then had a beer after the game, or they’re friends in the offseason. It’s a community that’s tighter than any. In my opinion, this is pulling it apart. So there has to be a middle ground. I’m not saying it was perfect, how it was all done. I think different cities should have their own promotions. It costs a lot to run a team in the NHL, you should be able to promote things you want to, within reason.
I think the NHL thought it was too much noise and negativity. So they pulled the plug on all of it. And that’s kind of like parents to kids when you’re fighting and bickering over an iPad or a video game. It’s like, “Screw this. We’re done with it.” And a lot of good got taken out with it, which is unfortunate.
I’m not pointing fingers at the league with how they handled it. I think there was just too much commotion. They did what they thought was right at the time. But the league does a lot of good with Hockey Fights Cancer and still raises money.
ESPN: Finally, the idea of battling cancer going through treatments and then having to play at the highest level. What was that like for you to have to deal with this mentally, physically, but also be called upon to play your sport at the highest level?
Boyle: I just remember a lot of people texting me. It was weird. I appreciated all of it. I really, really did. And it got me through a lot of the tougher times. And then I wanted to get back on the ice so it would stop.
In the beginning, guys were taking it easy on me, I thought. I missed the first 10 games because my spleen was still pretty enlarged because of all the white blood cells in my blood. I was losing my mind on the trainers and the coaches for not letting me play. I just wanted to get back to show everyone I was OK. My family, my friends back home, my teammates in the rest of the league — I’m fine. There are people that need your support. I did need it, and now you’ve given it to me. Let’s play hockey.
You’re in the NHL. You think you’re Superman. You have to tell yourself those things. I felt really bad for like three to four months. I didn’t know what was going on, and then I found out what was going on and that was tough. But then I felt better. When I felt good I said, “Let me play.” And they didn’t for a little bit, which was probably good call. Then when I got back, everything kind of settled back into normal, which was great.
It’s a big thing to maybe help people that are going through it. That’s a real pleasure of mine. I think that’s a gift for me to be able to talk to some people that are going through it a little bit right now, and just give them my perspective.
I know Jason Blake reached out to me. And then really, really did help me. He had CML like I did. That was like one of the best phone calls I ever had. because it. I was like, “Alright enough pouting.” We talked like 45 minutes. I was in my car, and I’d forget I was in the in my driveway. I wasn’t gonna hang up until he did because I asked him 300 questions, and he stuck with me the whole time.
ESPN: Do you think you’ll be that guy? Like, if you hear of a player get some sort of diagnosis, do you think you’ll be the guy who picks up the phone?
Boyle: I wanna be. I wanna be better at it, because there’s been times where I’ve not done it right away. We could all be better at those things, I think. If you’ve been through it or you haven’t, everybody’s been through something. I know how much it meant to me. You’re not annoying them. It matters even if they don’t get back to you. It’s well worth the time.
With less than two months left before college football is back in full swing, we’re taking a look at players who could be considered sleepers — under-the-radar players who could make a big impact — on each team in our post-spring top 25.
From true freshmen who could make a name for themselves to players coming back from injury to transfers looking to make an immediate impact, there are plenty of players to watch for this fall.
Our reporters break down the potential sleepers they’re keeping tabs on.
Sleeper: C Nick Dawkins
Offensive linemen naturally get overlooked, and Dawkins is no exception, but he once again will occupy a vital role as Penn State chases its first Big Ten title since 2016 and its first national title since 1986. Dawkins is at the heart of an offensive line that has stabilized and excelled in recent years. He earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors last fall, when he served as a captain, started all 16 games and allowed only two sacks. The 6-foot-4, 297-pound senior has drawn excellent reviews from the staff and will lead a line protecting quarterback Drew Allar and creating space for running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. — Adam Rittenberg
Sleeper: WR Tyler Brown
One of the reasons Clemson is expected to compete for a national championship this season is the return of its stellar receiver group, which made vast improvements a year ago to help the Tigers offense rediscover its footing. Antonio Williams, Bryant Wesco Jr. and T.J. Moore have received the bulk of the headlines nationally, but don’t forget about Brown, a freshman All-American in 2023 who was forced to take a redshirt last season with an ankle injury. Coach Dabo Swinney spoke highly about Brown during spring practice and is expecting him to have a big role in the offense. Adding depth to a position that had been a weak spot until last season is crucial. — Andrea Adelson
Sleeper: TE Jack Endries
Endries had a breakout season at Cal last year, catching 56 passes for 623 yards and two touchdowns, making him less of an off-the-radar prospect. But the former Golden Bears tight end signed with Texas in April and slides into a talented Longhorns offense. With star recruits Ryan Wingo and DeAndre Moore returning at receiver, 1,000-yard rusher Quintrevion Wisner back at running back with Cedric Baxter and Christian Clark returning from injuries alongside him, Arch Manning will have weapons. But Manning singled out Endries, a former walk-on, as someone who could emerge as a household name by season’s end as he solidifies a position of need after Gunnar Helm, who caught 60 passes for 786 yards and seven TDs last year, developed into a fourth-round pick of the Tennessee Titans and Amari Niblack transferred to Texas A&M. — Dave Wilson
Sleeper: RB Bo Walker
Walker wasn’t the most heralded prospect in Georgia’s most recent recruiting class, but he turned some heads in spring practice with his physical style and speed. Walker ran for more than 2,000 yards as a high school junior before spending his senior year at a smaller private school. Nate Frazier and Illinois transfer Josh McCray will probably be the top two backs entering preseason camp, but Walker has a chance to earn playing time. Would you expect anything less from a tailback named both Bo and Walker in the SEC? — Mark Schlabach
Sleeper: WR Carnell Tate
Tate was overshadowed by first-round pick Emeka Egbuka and true freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith last season. But Tate still played a key role for the Buckeyes, starting every game for the national champions. In the playoff semifinals against Texas, he made the Longhorns pay for their coverages taking away Smith by hauling in a game-high seven passes for 87 yards. With Egbuka gone to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tate is set to play an ever bigger role for the Buckeyes as a junior. He could easily surpass the 52 receptions and 733 receiving yards he had last season, and he should be a valuable wingman to Smith in yet another talented Ohio State receiving corps. — Jake Trotter
Sleeper: WR Barion Brown
If you’re familiar with Brown from his high school days, you may not consider him a sleeper. But the Kentucky transfer could finally reach his full potential in Baton Rouge. After a standout freshman season in Lexington, he never made the big statistical leaps many expected. But with Garrett Nussmeier at quarterback and other talent at receiver (Aaron Anderson, Oklahoma transfer Nic Anderson) and tight end (Trey’Dez Green, Oklahoma transfer Bauer Sharp), perhaps Brown can break out in 2025. — Harry Lyles Jr.
Sleeper: DL Bryce Young
With Rylie Mills and Howard Cross III leaving for the NFL, the Fighting Irish are looking for another player who can rush the quarterback. The answer might be sophomore Bryce Young, who certainly looks the part at 6 feet, 7 inches and 273 pounds. Last season, he played in all 16 games and had 23 tackles with a team-high three blocked kicks. Young has the right potential too. His father, Bryant Young, was an All-American at Notre Dame and a Pro Football Hall of Famer after a standout career with the 49ers. His mother, Kristin, ran track and field for the Fighting Irish. — Schlabach
Sleeper: WR Malik Benson
It’s difficult to call a four-star wide receiver a sleeper, but given the kind of season Florida State had last year, Benson was not exactly the talk of the sport after putting up 25 catches for 311 yards and one touchdown. Now in Eugene, Benson has the tools to be exactly the kind of wideout that flourishes in Will Stein’s offense. With a new quarterback in Dante Moore taking the reins and Evan Stewart dealing with a serious injury, I wouldn’t be surprised if Benson becomes Moore’s top target this coming season. — Paolo Uggetti
Sleeper: S Bray Hubbard
Now in his third season in the program, Hubbard is poised to be an All-SEC caliber player and will team with a healthy Keon Sabb to give Alabama one of the best safety duos in the SEC. Hubbard, who chose Alabama out of high school over Mississippi State, Navy and Tulane, started the final six games a year ago after Sabb suffered a season-ending injury against Tennessee and made a name for himself with three interceptions. Look for Hubbard in 2025 to be one of the top names on Alabama’s defense. — Chris Low
Sleeper: RB LJ Martin
After rushing for 518 and 718 yards in the past two seasons, Martin has steadily become a key player for BYU, but he hasn’t quite broken out nationally. He already figured to see his role grow as a junior in 2025, but with quarterback Jake Retzlaff set to transfer, Martin could be relied on more heavily — especially early in the season as the QB situation gets settled. Martin had a pair of 100-yard rushing games last season and finished with a strong performance in the bowl win against Colorado, with 88 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns. — Kyle Bonagura
Sleeper: S Miles Scott
Miles Scott isn’t even the most decorated Scott in the Illinois secondary — Xavier (no relation) earned first-team All-Big Ten honors in 2024 — but contributes to a unit that could be among the Big Ten’s best this fall. Miles had two interceptions last season and finished fifth on the team with 55 tackles (33 solo). The team captain also forced and recovered a fumble last fall. Scott has played in all 38 games during his Illinois career, starting the past 25, beginning his career as a walk-on wide receiver before moving to safety. He joins his roommate Xavier Scott, leading tackler Matthew Bailey, cornerback Torrie Cox Jr. and others in one of the nation’s most experienced secondaries. — Rittenberg
Sleeper: CB Nyland Green
The Arizona State defense returns eight starters, including both cornerbacks (Keith Abney II and Javan Robinson) — the Sun Devils are blessed with continuity on that side of the ball that most top-25 teams don’t have. But that makes cornerback Nyland Green one heck of a luxury add: The Purdue transfer, who started his career as a blue-chipper at Georgia, was an all-or-nothing playmaker with an overwhelmed Boilermakers defense last year, but in more select roles, with better experience and talent around him, he could turn into a major difference-maker for the defending Big 12 champs. — Bill Connelly
Sleeper: Edge Bryan Thomas
Much of the attention within the Gamecocks’ pass-rush depth will be centered on sophomore phenom Dylan Stewart and Charlotte transfer Demon Clowney, cousin of former two-time All American Jadeveon Clowney. But as South Carolina works to replace the production of 2024 SEC sack leader Kyle Kennard, fourth-year edge Thomas will have an important role to play as well. The 6-foot-2, 247-pounder logged career highs in sacks (4.5) and total tackles (23) a year ago, and he’s poised to step into a starting role opposite Stewart this fall following Kennard’s jump to the NFL. If the Gamecocks are going to feature one of the nation’s fiercest pass rushes again in 2025, Thomas will have to be a big part of it. — Eli Lederman
Sleeper: DL Elijah O’Neal
O’Neal turned in a productive 2024 season, finishing with four sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss in what was expected to be his final season in Tempe. However, as a former junior college transfer, O’Neal benefited from the ruling that granted juco transfers an extra year of eligibility and will return for his final season with a chance to develop into a more well-rounded pass rusher. He started six games last year, and with the strong possibility of an expanded role, it wouldn’t be a surprise if O’Neal chases double-digit TFLs or sacks. — Bonagura
Sleeper: RB Derrick McFall
Aside from SMU’s game against FCS Houston Baptist, McFall got just eight carries as a true freshman in 2024, but he flashed a skill set that could make him an apt replacement for Brashard Smith in the Mustangs’ backfield. A four-star recruit, McFall is quick, elusive and versatile — a lot like his predecessor at SMU. At 5-11, 183 pounds, he’s still looking to fill out his frame a bit, but his explosiveness and ability to catch the ball out of the backfield figure to be serious weapons. More importantly, with Smith on to the NFL and LJ Johnson‘s transfer, McFall is the clear favorite to fill a major hole on SMU’s offense. — David Hale
Sleeper: DL Romello Height
A transfer from Georgia Tech, Height is not necessarily an unknown. But for as bad as the Texas Tech defense was last season (only Tulsa allowed more passing yards, and the Red Raiders allowed 35 points or more eight times), Height could play a massive role in Lubbock if he’s able to help fix what was a painful watch for Texas Tech fans at times in 2024. The more high-profile transfer on this defensive line unquestionably is David Bailey, who comes in from Stanford, but Height could very well become a name that Red Raiders fans will become familiar with given his potential. — Lyles Jr.
Sleeper: RB Roman Hemby
Stepping into a Hoosiers backfield without a settled returning starter, Maryland transfer Hemby has the opportunity to emerge as Indiana’s leader on the ground in 2025. Hemby hasn’t matched the 989-yard, 10-touchdown production he delivered in 2022 in either of his past two seasons, but the 6-foot, 208-pound rusher has averaged at least 4.5 yards per carry in each of his past three seasons and can be a threat in the passing game as well. Indiana spread its carries nearly evenly between top rushers Justice Ellison and Ty Son Lawton a year ago, and will likely do the same again with upperclassmen Kaelon Black and Lee Beebe Jr. also vying for carries. But Hemby has the potential to break through in a big way in 2025. — Lederman
Sleeper: Edge Tobi Osunsanmi
Kansas State returns four starters from last year’s defensive front six, but the Wildcats will need someone to replace the lost production of sacks leader Brendan Mott (13.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks). Enter Tobi Osunsanmi. The converted linebacker played a backup role last season, averaging about 22 snaps per game, but he actually averaged more havoc plays (TFLs, forced fumbles, passes defended) per snap than Mott — a 3.0% rate to Mott’s 2.5%. Between Osunsanmi and sophomore Chiddi Obiazor (2.5% havoc rate at 23 snaps per game), K-State has a couple of exciting options on the edge up front. — Connelly
Sleeper: LB Myles Graham
We saw what Graham was capable of as a freshman for the Gators with 30 tackles. He also had three tackles for loss, one sack, an interception and a forced fumble. With a line that should only be stronger in front of him, along with playing next to Grayson Howard, Graham has the potential to take another step in 2025. The great Florida teams of the 21st century have all had good linebacker play, and it feels like Graham could play that part for this team as it looks to rise again. — Lyles Jr.
Sleeper: CB Zeke Berry
From Mike Sainristil to Will Johnson, Michigan’s dominant defenses in recent years have featured a big-time cornerback. Berry is primed to become the next one, on the heels of a breakout junior season. After starting the year at nickelback, Berry slid to the outside following an injury to Johnson and thrived. Berry finished the year with 37 tackles and a team-high 11 pass breakups. He also forced a fumble to go along with his two interceptions. If Berry can take another step forward as the leader of the Michigan secondary, he quietly figures to be one of the top corners in the Big Ten — if not the country. — Trotter
Sleeper: S Zechariah Poyser
You may have heard of Poyser, one of the top available players in the transfer portal this past season. But he should still be considered a sleeper because of the impact he is projected to have in his first year with the Hurricanes. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound safety played his first two seasons at Jacksonville State, earning Freshman All-America honors as a redshirt freshman this past season with 75 tackles and three interceptions. His addition gives the Hurricanes an instant upgrade at safety, where they struggled at times last season. Miami made other additions at defensive back in the portal, but safety was the most glaring area of need and it appears to be filled. — Adelson
Sleeper: S D’Angelo Hutchinson
The Cardinals struggled against the pass last season, and they’ll enter 2025 with a markedly different secondary that comes with its own share of questions. But one carryover from 2024 could help provide some answers. Hutchinson, a 6-foot-3 senior, saw action in all 13 games last season and came on strong down the stretch, including a standout performance in a win over Clemson in which he racked up nine tackles, two pass breakups and a blocked kick. Hutchinson brings length and speed to the back end, and head coach Jeff Brohm said he thinks the veteran could be in line for a breakout campaign. — Hale
Sleeper: CB Tyreek Chappell
Chappell returns after missing almost all of last season with an lower leg injury suffered in a non-contact setting in practice, making just three tackles. The Aggies’ secondary play was particularly frustrating to Mike Elko as last year wore on, and the return of Chappell, a former starter who was a three-star recruit and the team’s top defensive newcomer in 2021, is a key to the Aggies’ hopes of bolstering that unit. With the return of Will Lee III and the addition of Georgia transfer Julian Humphrey, Chappell, who had 88 tackles in his first two seasons, but just 24 in the past two, might be overlooked by fans. But inside the program, Chappell is expected to have a big year at the nickel spot. — Wilson
Sleeper: WR Cayden Lee
It’s odd to classify Lee as a sleeper following his breakout sophomore campaign in 2024, but hype around the third-year pass catcher has been buried this offseason amidst the Rebels’ additions of five transfer receivers, headlined by De’Zhaun Stribling and Harrison Wallace III. Lee finished second among Ole Miss receivers a year ago with 57 receptions, which he converted into 874 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. As the Rebels enter a new era at quarterback in 2025 with first-year starter Austin Simmons, Lee has the potential to become a critical, go-to target, particularly if he can find the end zone more. — Lederman
Sleeper: WR Zion Kearney
The Sooners were besieged with injuries at the receiver position last season, and some of their more talented pass catchers hit the transfer portal, including Nic Anderson. With new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and his Air Raid offense coming to Norman, that means Oklahoma will utilize even more receivers. Kearney, a true sophomore, has a chance to make a big jump after playing as a backup in 11 games as a freshman. He has the size (6-1, 207 pounds) and speed (4.28 40-yard dash in high school) to be a staple in the Sooners’ passing game, especially with John Mateer stepping in at quarterback. — Low
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Kristen Shilton
The Vancouver Canucks have come to terms with forward Brock Boeser on a new seven-year contract, carrying a $7.25 million AAV.
Canucks GM Patrik Allvin announced the deal on Tuesday during the first hour of NHL free agency. Boeser, 28, was an unrestricted free agent on a previously expiring contract.
Drafted by Vancouver 23rd overall in the 2015 NHL draft, Boeser has collected 204 goals and 434 points in 554 games with the Canucks to date. A top-six scoring threat, Boeser has elite playmaking skills and the potential to produce big numbers offensively. He had his best year offensively in 2023-24, producing 40 goals and 73 points in 81 games.
Boeser didn’t hit those marks again last season — settling for 25 goals and 50 points in 75 games — but was still second amongst teammates in output. He also plays a prominent role on Vancouver’s power play and when he can generate opportunities at 5-on-5, he is a true difference-maker up front for the Canucks.
The extension is a happy ending for Vancouver and Boeser. When the regular season ended, Boeser admitted “it’s tough to say” whether he’d be back with the Canucks. Boeser reportedly turned down a previous five-year extension offer with the club and Allvin subsequently looked into deals for him at the March trade deadline, with no takers. Boeser looked — and sounded — poised to explore his options on the open market.
Ultimately, Boeser decided to stay put by committing the best years of his career to the Canucks.
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