The New Jersey Devils have been one of the bigger surprises to start the season, atop the Metropolitan Division and being led by rookies such as 2017 Hobey Baker Award winner Will Butcher and 2017 top pick Nico Hischier.

Devils GM Ray Shero knew his young club would need some veteran leadership and stability and that was the motivation for signing Brian Boyle via free agency over the summer, but the 32-year-old center was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia during training camp.

#BoyleStrong 💪 pic.twitter.com/u6iKbCT92K

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) October 22, 2017

Fortunately, the bone-marrow cancer that team doctors discovered was similar to type that former NHLer Jason Blake had, which allowed him to return to the ice within weeks with the aid of medication.

Boyle was cleared to practice on Sunday and skated with his teammates for the first time in over a month. Although it is uncertain when he will get back into game action, it is fantastic to see him back on the ice and able to continue his career and his life.

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