Sawyer Boulton

Sawyer Boulton (born July 12, 2004) is an American professional ice hockey forward for the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Playing career Junior Boulton played one season of junior hockey for the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) during the 2023-24 season. During his season with London he was a teammate of his brother Ryder Boulton and London won the OHL championship. He scored 3 goals and 2 assists with 63 penalty minutes in 40 games one assist in 16 ganes during the OHL playoffs.

Boulton's longest suspension was for 10 games, for making a hit to Bryce McConnell-Barker of the Soo Greyhounds "in direct contact to the head of a vulnerable opponent, resulting in injury.” McConnell-Barker ended up missing 14 games due to a concussion he suffered from the hit. Greyhound coach John Dean said of the hit:It was their game plan to come in here and drag the game into the gutter. They end up with, my guess is a huge suspension for their hit on Bryce. And that was just a result of style of play. The league has an opportunity to protect [one of its] best players. Bryce is a world-class player and it was an obvious attempt at the head. In the case of the latter suspension, Stewart claimed that the fight was not set up in advance. During the OHL playoffs, Boulton had to serve another two game suspension for slew footing in a playoff game against the Saginaw Spirit. During the Memorial Cup playoffs, Boulton was suspended for one game for making "unnecessary contact with a Moose Jaw [Warriors] player while exiting the ice following the completion of the warm-up."

Professional After the 2023–24 season, Boulton signed a professional contract with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League. He participated in the Philadelphia Flyers' 2024 development camp. He scored 1 goal for each team and accumulated 51 penalty minutes for each team.

Playing style Boulton stated that "I like to bring energy to the whole lineup. I like to stick up for my teammates, make sure they feel safe. Make sure they have room and try to be good defensively. Keep the puck out of our net and play gritty games." He also said that "[checking has] always been a big part of my game, my whole life. I like to use my body to create space for my teammates. I like to intimidate and I like to make my teammates feel comfortable out there."

Personal life Sawyer's father Eric Boulton was also an aggressive hockey player, who played 15 seasons in the NHL. His brother Ryder Boulton currently plays for the Brantford Bulldogs of the OHL.

Career statistics Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2023–24 London Knights OHL 40 3 2 5 63 16 0 1 1 15 2024–25 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 18 1 0 1 51 — — — — — 2024–25 Reading Royals ECHL 13 1 0 1 51 — — — — — 2025–26 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 16 0 1 1 40 — — — — — 2025–26 Reading Royals ECHL 6 1 0 1 29 — — — — —AHL totals 34 1 1 2 91 — — — — —