BOSTON — Dylan Sikura couldn’t take it any longer.



He needed to get off the ice. He needed to get out of the building. He needed to get away from hockey.



Sikura, who had grown up in Ontario, had been hopeful that attending Northeastern University and going the college hockey route would be best for him. He had been drafted in the sixth round by the Blackhawks just months before in the 2014 draft and had shown in the OJHL he possessed skill. He just required some time to physically develop, and college provided him more time to do so than in the CHL



But college hockey wasn’t agreeing with him. He was overmatched on the ice, and he fell out of favor with Northeastern coach Jim Madigan. Sikura was made a healthy scratch in seven consecutive games that January.



It wasn’t what Sikura envisioned, and it was beginning to wear on him. On this particular day, he had enough. He usually remained on the ice after practice to put in extra...