PHILADELPHIA — One thing is certain about Sacha Boisvert: He’s not backing out of a fight.
His father, Jimmy, owns Club Performance, a boxing and taekwondo gym in Boisvert’s hometown of Trois-Rivières, Quebec. He spent his childhood training with some of Quebec’s best fighters.
Switching the boxing gloves for hockey gloves, he got into plenty of scuffles during his two college seasons at North Dakota and Boston University. His 2025-26 season with the Terriers ended in a familiar spot: the penalty box.
Now, after a slightly delayed immigration process, he has arrived in the NHL. Fighting wasn’t his focus for his first time around — but don’t expect to wait too long for an opponent to feel a Boisvert right hook.
“I’m just excited to get out there first and see what happens,” he said before making his NHL debut for the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.
He started to push some Flyers around — not for fun but in frustration. It only took the Flyers only 48 seconds to score and start spoiling the rookie’s debut.
The Hawks were bullied by the Flyers in a 5-1 loss at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Philly forwards Alex Bump and Sean Couturier scored in the first 2 minutes, 33 seconds, creating an immediate hole too deep for the Hawks to recover.
“I thought they played more intense than us, we didn’t really match that for whatever reason, (which is) something we got to do better,” center Connor Bedard said. “When you play teams that every game for them is do or die, they’re going to come out hard (and) we got to have the same urgency.”
Bedard scored the lone Hawks goal off of a pretty spin pass from another newcomer in Anton Frondell. It was Bedard’s 30th goal of the season, the third time an under-21 Hawk has hit that mark in a season (Jonathan Toews and Eric Daze).
The young Hawks are excited to see what the new arrivals have in store.
“It’s fun to see guys come in, the excitement they have (and) the impact right away,” Bedard said. “(Boisvert) and (Frondell) are only going to get better.”
Boisvert played for 9:03 in his first NHL game, with one shot on goal and even more scoring chances. From the rookie lap to the final horn, it was an unforgettable experience despite the loss, the Hawks’ fifth in seven games.
“It was fun being able to be out there with all the guys,” Boisvert said. “It gives me guidelines on what I know and the system and everything. It’s going to be fun to watch the videos.”
He skated on the fourth line with Teuvo Teräväinen and Landon Slaggert. They made sure to give some pointers to their newest teammate.
“They’re guys (who) mentor (and) helped me with talking to me on the bench and everything, getting me going, it was a good time,” Boisvert said.
The 20-year-old center signed a three-year entry-level contract March 16. His debut came two days after 2025 No. 3 pick Frondell played in his first game for the Hawks.
“I feel good, obviously a little nervous, but it’s normal for my first game,” Boisvert said at the morning skate Thursday. “(I’ll) see what it’s all about to be out there with those guys.”
His visa was finalized Tuesday before the Hawks’ 4-3 win against the New York Islanders, but the team’s lines and game plan already were set. Boisvert has had a little more than a week to observe practices, which he saw as a benefit.
“It knocked off some nerves a little bit, just to get to know the guys, talk to them and ask a lot of questions,” he said. “I’m more ready than I would’ve been if I played right away.”
Hawks coach Jeff Blashill liked what he saw in Boisvert’s limited time.
“In the bit he played, I thought he did a solid job,” Blashill said. “It’s a hard game when you’re not on either special team to get the floor. … I thought he did a solid job.”
The Hawks selected him with the No. 18 pick in the 2024 draft — the same year they picked Artyom Levshunov at No. 2 — after Boisvert totaled 113 points (53 goals, 60 assists) in 118 regular-season games for the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks.
He then opted to play college hockey, finishing the 2024-25 season at North Dakota with 32 points (18 goals, 14 assists) in 37 games. He transferred to BU amid a coaching change at North Dakota and had just eight points after Nov. 15 during a season of inconsistency and injury.
He was a healthy scratch for the Terriers’ Hockey East Tournament opener, reportedly because he was late for a team workout, raising concerns about his off-ice discipline. The NHL presents both a new step for Boisvert as well as an opportunity to get back on the right foot.
“There’s some things I want to improve,” he said. “Every year you just want to get better in general. Lot of stuff I want to work on, but right now it’s all about soaking it all in and being in the experience as much as I can.”
Thursday’s game was another chance for a Hawks rookie to help spoil an Eastern Conference team’s playoff prospects. Frondell’s assist to Ilya Mikheyev on Tuesday helped the Hawks briefly drop the Islanders out of the second wild-card spot.
The Flyers — who have just two more regulation wins than the Hawks — kept themselves in the playoff picture and sit five points behind the Islanders, who reclaimed the No. 2 wild-card spot.
Blashill is tasked with figuring out his newcomers’ roles on the team. Frondell’s placement on the top line with Bedard and Ryan Greene proved worthy so far, and Blashill might have a good idea of what he wants out of Boisvert.
“He’s a guy who I think can bring up physicality,” Blashill said. “He can bring an edge to our team but with skill — he’s not void of that.
“He’s got good hands, a really good shot, so he can be a power forward with skill if that’s what he becomes. He’s a commodity on our team, within our young prospects, and a commodity in the league.”
