TheColorOfHockey

~ Hockey for Fans and Players of Color

TheColorOfHockey

Tag Archives: Kyle Bollers

From TO to Traverse City, Kyle Bollers scores in USPHL rookie season

07 Monday Mar 2016

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Buffalo Sabres, Cyril Bollers, Jack Eichel, Kyle Bollers, Minnesota Wild, Skillz Black Aces

It’s one thing to be a hockey coach and tell a young under-the-radar player on what he or she needs to do to grab the attention of NCAA and major junior hockey programs, it’s another thing bestowing that advice when the player in question is your kid.

Just ask Cyril Bollers.

Traverse City Hounds forward Kyle Bollers.

Traverse City Hounds forward Kyle Bollers.

After his 16-year-old son, Kyle Bollers, was bypassed by Canadian major teams, the elder Bollers, who’s the director of player development for the Skillz Black Aces and has coached for Canadian hockey teams at the youth and junior levels, convened a family meeting to go over the options Kyle had to chase professional hockey-playing dream.

With skating for an Ontario Hockey League major junior team close to his suburban Toronto home out, Kyle’s family concluded the he’d have to leave home and play in a lower but nonetheless important league to catch the eyes of collegiate and major junior scouts.

So he packed his bags, grabbed his passport, and made the 436-mile, seven-hour trek from Toronto to  Traverse City, Mich., to play for the Traverse City Hounds of the U.S. Premier Hockey League.

The youngest and only foreign-born player on the team, Kyle finished fourth on the Hounds in scoring with 29 goals and 27 assists in 46 regular season games.

He helped propel the Hounds to second place in the USPHL’s Eastern Conference Division with a 37-9 record with two overtime losses. The Hounds are currently battling the Detroit Fighting Irish in the second round of the playoffs.

“Honestly, I never expected to do this well. This was a good step – a great decision that me and my family chose to send me down here,” Kyle told me recently. “Missing my mom, my dad, and my brothers and sisters, that’s been the hardest part. There are some days that I wish I could be home. But at the same time, I just think to myself  ‘Why am I here, what’s, my goal, and what I do need to do to achieve that goal?’ And what I need to do is to be here.”

Kyle Bollers scored 29 goals in 46 regular season games for the USPHL Hounds (Photo/Jay Johnston/Game Day)

Kyle Bollers scored 29 goals in 46 regular season games for the USPHL Hounds (Photo/Jay Johnston/Game Day)

While Kyle may have been occasionally homesick, his parents confessed to being occasionally heart-sick about his absence. Still, father Cyril said move to Traverse City gives Kyle “an opportunity to be seen in the U.S., it gives him an opportunity to pursue his dream of playing college or major junior hockey, it gives him a brand new start, it gives him sense of independence being away from home as a 16-year-old.”

“It also gives him a sense of accomplishment of achieving and continuing to progress at a high level,” the elder Bollers said. “So for us, it’s a bitter sorrow because he is away from home. But he’s being productive in pursuing his hockey endeavors.”

The USPHL was founded in 2012 and it consists of 110 teams from 55 hockey organizations across 19 states. The teams skate in the Premier, Elite, Midwest, USP3, Under-18, Under-16 and Under-16 Futures divisions.

More than 350 USPHL players have gone on to play college or professional hockey. Center Jack Eichel  went from the USPHL’s Boston Junior Bruins to a standout career at Boston University to being the Buffalo Sabres’ 2015 first-round draft pick and a top contender this season for the Calder Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s best rookie.

Center Charlie Coyle advanced from Massachusetts’ South Shore Kings to BU to being the San Jose Sharks’ 2010 first-round draft pick. Coyle is the Minnesota Wild’s leading scorer so far this season.

Kyle Bollers, left, hopes that success in the USPHL leads to playing NCAA or major junior hockey in the near-future.

Kyle Bollers, left, hopes that success in the USPHL leads to playing NCAA or major junior hockey in the near-future.

Kyle is hoping the USPHL will put him on the same glide path. Lester Griffin, the Hounds’majority owner and general manager, thinks it’s only a matter of time .

“He’s got great hands, sees the ice real well. We’re working with him to help improve his puck movement, passing,” Griffin told me recently. “He’s got a lot of potential and next year, he should be playing up somewhere.”

This summer, Kyle will likely spend some quality time on-ice with his dad, who’s a coach for the Jamaica Ice Hockey Federation, an organization  that’s trying to develop a team that would eventually represent the Caribbean island nation in the Winter Olympics.

Kyle, whose family is of West Indian heritage,  has practiced and played in an exhibition game for Team Jamaica. He said he’s looking forward to donning the team’s snazzy yellow, black, and green jersey and skate in more exhibition matches this summer.

 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • More
  • LinkedIn
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp
  • Skype

Like this:

Like Loading...

Recent Posts

  • Asian & Pacific Islander heritage players on 2020-21 team rosters in pictures
  • Meet the Black players on NCAA women’s hockey rosters in 2020-21
  • Jaden Lindo adds new chapter to ‘Soul on Ice’ by winning hockey championship
  • Sarah Nurse seeks gold at IIHF world championship after winning Olympic silver
  • Hockey Family Photo Album, Page 2

Archives

  • May 2021
  • February 2021
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • April 2013
  • December 2012

Categories

  • John Tortorella
  • nhl.com
  • Uncategorized

Hockey Links

  • American Collegiate Hockey Association
  • Black Ice Book
  • Detroit Hockey Association
  • Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation
  • Fort Dupont Ice Arena
  • Hasek's Heroes
  • Hockey is for Everyone
  • Hockeyland Canada
  • Ice Hockey in Harlem
  • International Ice Hockey Federation
  • Jamaica Olympic Ice Hockey Federation
  • Kevin Weekes Online
  • NHL official website
  • NHL Uniforms
  • Ted's Take
  • The American Hockey League
  • The ECHL
  • TSN
  • USA Hockey

Powered by WordPress.com.

 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: