Prospect Info: Tyler Boucher (F) - PART II

[Sens of Anarchy]

Did anyone watch Boucher's 1/2 period debut the other night?
Was anyone impressed with what they saw?
Were there some positive glimmers we can take away?

 

[SENATOR]

Did anyone watch Boucher's 1/2 period debut the other night?
Was anyone impressed with what they saw?
Were there some positive glimmers we can take away?

Reminded me of Chris Neil, who can not fight and made of glass. Remember that Chris was drafted as a scorer and a skill guy. The last year in OHL he finished with

66

26

46

72

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

I do not think that Boucher is more talented than Chris. Chris Neil had to reinvent himself with all the influx of euros we had. It was hard to compete for him with likes as Hossa, Yashin and Havlat. If Boucher will not become a relatively skilled scrapper. He is a lost cause. And it looks like he is an injury prone. I had no idea what was the rational to draft him in a first round. Boucher is at best late second or a third round pick.

 

[Micklebot]

Did anyone watch Boucher's 1/2 period debut the other night?
Was anyone impressed with what they saw?
Were there some positive glimmers we can take away?

I think @Burrowsaurus complained about wasting his money on an OHL gameday pass to watch 2 or 3 shifts of him...

 

[RAFI BOMB]

Did anyone watch Boucher's 1/2 period debut the other night?
Was anyone impressed with what they saw?
Were there some positive glimmers we can take away?

Here is his 1st shift:

From what I saw he looked substantially better than everyone on the 67's. Just a tier above everyone else and clear signs of him being a legitimate 1st rounder. It was subtle so I don't know if everyone would walk away with the same conclusions but that is what I saw. His skating quality really stood out. He is a powerful and fluid skater, with solid agility and edge work and at times it seemed effortless. For having that long of a break and just getting back into it, his skating quality really stood out.

I felt he came across as more of an NHL player than a CHLer. Very poised and smart decision making. He did a lot of things that would earn him ice time at the NHL level and give coaches a lot of confidence in him.

I wanted to see more of his offensive game but I felt the 67's players made it difficult for him to do that. In particular they really struggled at the blue line to keep the puck in the zone during his shifts and on the powerplay. They weren't able to get a cycle going and sustained offensive zone time. I was reminded of the same issue at Boston University. I think we see more of his offensive ability at the pro levels where that structure is more demanded and where teams are more capable of creating a cycle and sustaining possession.

At this level and given what I saw from the 67's this will give Boucher more of an expanded role as less players are capable of doing that. It might end up being best for him as it will lead to him carrying the puck more and looking to set things up. In a way it might lead to him becoming more of a driver of possession. Prior to this I felt that his game was best suited to quick plays, quick passes, quick shots. In my opinion that is where he would thrive by working the boards and allowing his skating and hockey IQ to get himself in shooting positions or to set up quick plays. But on this team and at this level he will be forced to expand his game and carry the puck more. That may help him develop another aspect of his game.

 

[Sweatred]

Here is his 1st shift:

From what I saw he looked substantially better than everyone on the 67's. Just a tier above everyone else and clear signs of him being a legitimate 1st rounder. It was subtle so I don't know if everyone would walk away with the same conclusions but that is what I saw. His skating quality really stood out. He is a powerful and fluid skater, with solid agility and edge work and at times it seemed effortless. For having that long of a break and just getting back into it, his skating quality really stood out.

I felt he came across as more of an NHL player than a CHLer. Very poised and smart decision making. He did a lot of things that would earn him ice time at the NHL level and give coaches a lot of confidence in him.

I wanted to see more of his offensive game but I felt the 67's players made it difficult for him to do that. In particular they really struggled at the blue line to keep the puck in the zone during his shifts and on the powerplay. They weren't able to get a cycle going and sustained offensive zone time. I was reminded of the same issue at Boston University. I think we see more of his offensive ability at the pro levels where that structure is more demanded and where teams are more capable of creating a cycle and sustaining possession.

At this level and given what I saw from the 67's this will give Boucher more of an expanded role as less players are capable of doing that. It might end up being best for him as it will lead to him carrying the puck more and looking to set things up. In a way it might lead to him becoming more of a driver of possession. Prior to this I felt that his game was best suited to quick plays, quick passes, quick shots. In my opinion that is where he would thrive by working the boards and allowing his skating and hockey IQ to get himself in shooting positions or to set up quick plays. But on this team and at this level he will be forced to expand his game and carry the puck more. That may help him develop another aspect of his game.

100% agree ... great pick.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Jury is still out, but I’m excited by what he could become, and as a Sens fan that’s what matters to me

 

[Burrowsaurus]

I think @Burrowsaurus complained about wasting his money on an OHL gameday pass to watch 2 or 3 shifts of him...

I mean the guy didn’t play. His first shift looked like he was moving. The 3 shifts after look like there was just no gas in the tank

 

[Micklebot]

I mean the guy didn’t play. His first shift looked like he was moving. The 3 shifts after look like there was just no gas in the tank

Thx, @Sens of Anarchy here's your answer

I was never clear on what had been keeping him out prior to that game, maybe he had fallen out of game shape because his fitness level didntseem to be a glaring issue in the college games I watched

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Thx, @Sens of Anarchy here's your answer

I was never clear on what had been keeping him out prior to that game, maybe he had fallen out of game shape because his fitness level didntseem to be a glaring issue in the college games I watched

I know he had covid before he came ..could have affected his wind .. just a wag

 

[aragorn]

Did anyone watch Boucher's 1/2 period debut the other night?
Was anyone impressed with what they saw?
Were there some positive glimmers we can take away?

He was injured on his 3rd or 4th shift I think so it's difficult to say. But given from the shifts I did see you can just tell he is a very good skater, fast, wide body solid on his skates & he can handle the puck although he didn't get a lot of opporunities on those shifts.

The jury remains out until we see him play 5 to 10 games as to what he will provide, but I do agree with Rafi in that he seems to play a pro game, positioning wise & do a lot of the little things well. Hopefully, he heals quickly & we will eventually see something this season from him.

 

[Cosmix]

NO ... suffer with that every damn day, have to wrap my wrist sometimes just to hold a beer.

Beer drinking works.

 

[Cosmix]

Good to hear.

 

[aragorn]

Beer drinking works.

Weed works the best if your lungs can take it.

 

[Cosmix]

Weed works the best if your lungs can take it.

I have a lot of those . . . . in my front yard!

 

[RAFI BOMB]

I know he had covid before he came ..could have affected his wind .. just a wag

The coaching staff didn't really ease him into the game. He was given 2 shifts in the first 2:12 of the game. At that point Sudbury took a penalty. The coaching staff then started Boucher on the 1st unit right after he just played a full shift and then he stayed on the power play for the 1sr half of it.

I think he was off the ice for a very short period of time and seemingly played nearly the whole first 3 to 3.5 minutes of the game. Sure there were some whistles but on his shifts and the power play the 67s couldn't keep the puck in the zone so Boucher was forced to skate the length of the ice more than a few times.

Given the time he has had off, Covid, recovering from an injury and how he was deployed by the 67s coaching staff it isn't that surprising that he looked a little fatigued out there.

 

[aragorn]

I'm hoping Bocuher can become a player like Evander Kane without the off ice bullshit. If he can play a powerforward style, hit guys hard, drop the gloves when required & add some good offence with some regularity would be more than enough.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

I'm hoping Bocuher can become a player like Evander Kane without the off ice bullshit. If he can play a powerforward style, hit guys hard, drop the gloves when required & add some good offence with some regularity would be more than enough.

Well, I'd like that too. I'd also like Erik Brannstrom to turn into Nik Lidstrom. Neither has any real chance of happening though. Kane had 49 points in a 56 game season just last year. He's a 25-30 goal for the last 8-10 years.

Kane is a hugely talented player. I just hope Boucher can become a decent 3rd liner at some point. Anything more would be gravy.

 

[Sweatred]

I'm hoping Bocuher can become a player like Evander Kane without the off ice bullshit. If he can play a powerforward style, hit guys hard, drop the gloves when required & add some good offence with some regularity would be more than enough.

Under DJ I think Boucher could replicate or play above Kane’s power game. He may not score as much but if he can hit open nets, fuel the forecheck, and protect our top 9 we have a nice player.

 

[SlapJack]

If Boucher never sets foot on NHL ice, I'd still take him over Evander Kane

 

[Senator Stanley]

Reminded me of Chris Neil, who can not fight and made of glass. Remember that Chris was drafted as a scorer and a skill guy. The last year in OHL he finished with

66

26

46

72

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

I do not think that Boucher is more talented than Chris. Chris Neil had to reinvent himself with all the influx of euros we had. It was hard to compete for him with likes as Hossa, Yashin and Havlat. If Boucher will not become a relatively skilled scrapper. He is a lost cause. And it looks like he is an injury prone. I had no idea what was the rational to draft him in a first round. Boucher is at best late second or a third round pick.

Not trying to take anything away from him, but Neil had 230 PIM in his draft year and was a 6th round pick. He was definitely not drafted as a skill guy and was never expected to compete with the Hossas of the world. In that era, his path to the NHL was always going to be as that Tie Domi, tough-guy-who-can-play type.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Not trying to take anything away from him, but Neil had 230 PIM in his draft year and was a 6th round pick. He was definitely not drafted as a skill guy and was never expected to compete with the Hossas of the world. In that era, his path to the NHL was always going to be as that Tie Domi, tough-guy-who-can-play type.

Him talking about the monsters he had to fight in the distant pro leagues to make it is crazy to hear. Guys that had grizzly nicknames like “Eye Poppin’ Pete” and “Meat Massacre Mike”.

Damn.

 

[Cosmix]

I'm hoping Bocuher can become a player like Evander Kane without the off ice bullshit. If he can play a powerforward style, hit guys hard, drop the gloves when required & add some good offence with some regularity would be more than enough.

It certainly would be a great thing if Boucher turns out to have the skillset of Evander Kane.

 

[Sweatred]

Boucher still has another year of eligibility at the WJC’s. Like Greig and many 1RD prospects he probably won’t make it until his final year …

I bet by this time next year everyone is excited about TB.

 

[Byron Bitz]

It’s bullshit that they didn’t postpone the draft and do a double draft the next year. The Sens had to waste one of the important drafting years of their rebuild with 3 picks in the top 50 on a year where scouts barely got a look at these players.

 

[BondraTime]

It’s bullshit that they didn’t postpone the draft and do a double draft the next year. The Sens had to waste one of the important drafting years of their rebuild with 3 picks in the top 50 on a year where scouts barely got a look at these players.

They just never had a good draft, from a D+1 perspective at the very least, all the other teams were on the same playing field

They reached on all 3 top 60 picks, it's not a surprising result thus far. Lots of time left.