Wild forward Travis Boyd is back home after pro hockey odyssey

As far as commutes go, this is the shortest Travis Boyd has had to travel to get to an NHL training camp.

“By far,” he said.

After playing for Washington, with a pair of Canadian teams and most recently in Arizona, the Hopkins native has been skating with the Wild as one of their offseason pickups.

“Certainly is nice not having to deal with all the extra stuff that goes with moving to a new city,” said Boyd, who lives in Edina and joined the Wild on a one-year, two-way contract. “So, it’s been great. It’s been great for my wife [Kelsey] and my kids and even for our families, too, just still being around in this state at this time of year.”

But Boyd isn’t just enjoying the comforts of home as he embarks on his 10th pro season since leaving the Gophers.

The 31-year-old forward is also in the unique position of having to reestablish himself after injury sidelined him while he was playing the best hockey of his career, an opportunity he’s getting with the team he was a fan of when he was younger.

“If I’m fortunate enough to make the team,” Boyd said, “and run out onto the ice that first game and just hear the announcer say, ‘Here come your Minnesota Wild,’ I mean, I got the chills going down the back of my neck just saying that out loud.”

Of all the players the Wild added in the summer to improve their call-up base in the minors, Boyd has the most cachet — and not just because of his local roots.

A sixth-round draft pick by the Capitals in 2011, the center/wing was mostly with Washington’s American Hockey League affiliate until 2018. He drew in for the Capitals’ series-clinching victory over the Penguins that sent them to the Eastern Conference finals. Eight wins later, Washington nabbed the Stanley Cup.

Boyd received a championship ring but didn’t meet the games requirement to get his name etched on the Cup.

“That was still one of the coolest experiences I’ve had,” he said. “I was still part of it, played a playoff game, and I played maybe the best playoff game besides the Finals — the Game 6 in Pittsburgh to beat them.”

His day with the Cup was scrapped, the trophy getting an extended stay in Russia with captain Alex Ovechkin, but Boyd and Chaska’s Shane Gersich (who logged two playoff games) were invited to join the celebrations of then-general manager Brian MacLellan and former Warroad star T.J. Oshie.

“My day is also your day,” Oshie texted Boyd, whose daughter Hayden, now 10, sat in the Cup. Boyd also has a five-month-old son, Kylo.

The following two seasons, Boyd played mostly with the Capitals before moving on to the Maple Leafs and Canucks.

Finally, his breakout performance arrived with the Coyotes: He scored a career-high 17 goals in 2021-22, earning a two-year, $3.5 million contract. For an encore, Boyd buried another 15 goals while appearing in all 82 games, but his momentum stalled last November when Boyd suffered a torn pectoral muscle on a hit from Colorado’s Josh Manson.

His first game back was the Wild’s preseason debut last Saturday at Winnipeg, and Boyd was back in action Wednesday night at Dallas, where the Wild fell 5-2 to the Stars.

Filip Gustavsson (35 saves) handled all three periods but wasn’t on the hook for the last goal, an empty-netter. Wild newcomers Jakub Lauko and Graeme Clarke both scored for the second consecutive game.

“I feel really good in camp,” Boyd said. “Obviously, when July 1 came and I signed the deal that I signed, I obviously also knew that nothing’s guaranteed. So, my No.1 goal is coming into training camp, trying to make the team.

“I put a lot of effort in this summer. Definitely put all my eggs into the basket of this is kind of your last chance to stick around in this league.”

Considering the NHL’s talent level and the Wild’s youth movement, Boyd figures this might be his final season to prove he still belongs.

He hopes to show Wild brass he’s versatile and can address whatever need the team has.

“I’ve played anywhere from the fourth line to the first line,” he said. “I’ve killed penalties. I’ve played on the power play. I’ve played in every situation, and I feel like I can play in every situation.”

What Boyd hasn’t played is a regular-season or playoff game for the Wild.

For someone like him, who still remembers Andrew Brunette’s Game 7 overtime winner against Colorado in the 2003 quarterfinals, suiting up for the Wild was a childhood dream.

All these years later, that dream could become reality.

“To be in this situation, I’m very fortunate,” Boyd said. “I’m certainly going to put 110% of my effort into making sure that it comes true.”