SPRINGFIELD, MASS. — Manalapan’s Kevin Boyle is one step away from joining a rather prominent list of New Jersey natives to play in the National Hockey League.

It’s an ever-growing list that includes prominent NHL’ers like perennial All-Star Johnny Gaudreau as well as veteran household names like Bobby Ryan and James van Riemsdyk, and one the current goaltender for the American Hockey League’s San Diego Gulls, top affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks, is eager to get his name on.

“It would be awesome,” Boyle told The Trentonian just prior to the AHL All-Star Game. “I’ve had two recalls this year; I haven’t gotten into a game yet, but can always hope. They have a plan for everything up there, so I’m going in trying to improve every day, and if the call comes, then it comes.”

Boyle grew up in New Jersey and lived there until he was 18, graduating from Manalapan High School before going to British Columbia to play in the BCHL for a year prior to playing college hockey. While still prominent, youth hockey in New Jersey isn’t what it is in more hockey-hungry areas of the country, but at the time, the now-26-year-old didn’t much seem to care.

“To be honest, I wasn’t even thinking about all that stuff growing up,” he said. “I was just going there, having fun and playing hockey. That’s what I loved to do. I wasn’t worried about moving on to the next level. Once I got older, I kind of realized I had something there and I did have the ability to do it. Once you have that, it comes down to luck and if someone’s there to watch you. You go out, you play hard every day and if someone’s there, he’ll probably notice you.”

Boyle got noticed.

He played the first two years of his collegiate career at UMass-Amherst before sitting out a season to transfer to UMass-Lowell, where he made a name for himself as one of the top NCAA goaltenders in the country.

“I started out at Amherst and then ended up transferring to Lowell, and that’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” he said. “I owe so much to everyone there and the whole city of Lowell, they helped me out so much. I owe where I am now to them.”

A senior season in which he went 24-10-5 with a 1.83 goals against average and .934 save percentage earned him a spot as a finalist for the prestigious Mike Richter Award as top college goaltender in the nation, and eventually a pro contract with the Ducks, one that’s opened up parts of the country to him that he’d yet to explore.

“The pro experience has been awesome,” he said. “This is my third year now with Anaheim, and they’ve been awesome to me. It’s been a great relationship, and it’s been a lot of fun. I’d never been to California before that, and then I signed after we lost in the NCAA Tournament in my senior year and I’d never been. I went to San Diego, and I’d heard amazing things about it, but it’s just gorgeous. They don’t call it ‘America’s Finest City’ for no reason.”

Boyle earned a spot in the AHL All-Star Game in what’s been his second full season with the Gulls after splitting his first year between San Diego and the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies. He’s posted a 2.76 goals against average and .911 save percentage in his first 27 games this season, and has made big strides even from his days as a standout at UMass-Lowell.

“I think I’ve grown, especially with my confidence since then,” Boyle said. “That’s helped me out a lot. I think I’ve become a little bit calmer in net, which is something that helps you out through a whole year of pro hockey. It’s taxing on the body, so it’s helpful to be calmer and make the game easier for yourself.”