Prospect Info: 2018 Draft: 1st pick: Evan Bouchard (D) - Sent back to London (11/02/18)

[Raab]

The hard part about comparing Bouchard to defencemen of yesteryears is his disposition. A lot of the greats we’re half decently physical. For me if I had to compare him to anybody I’d say Tomas Kaberle would be a good comparison. If he can add a physical component to his game then Larry Robinson. But a lot of guys get compared to Larry and aren’t even half as good. A modern day Larry Robinson would be a physical dmen like Larsson with better skating who could put up 60-70 points a year.

 

[Raab]

How do people feel about Bouchard vs Quinn Hughes? Hughes is probably more dynamic offensively due to his amazing skating & quick hands. Bouchard has the edge defensively (probably) and will translate better due to his size. Am I right?

Look at the size of the defenceman with the most points in NHL history. Hughes is going to be a great player. The Canucks will be the team we’ll have to get by in 2-3 years when we want to compete for a cup.

 

[McSpecial DraiBlend]

Look at the size of the defenceman with the most points in NHL history. Hughes is going to be a great player. The Canucks will be the team we’ll have to get by in 2-3 years when we want to compete for a cup.

You talking about Ray Bourque?
220lbs. Strong as a ox?

 

[Raab]

But I heard on the mains that he is soft and terrible defensively

Hardly terrible defensively. Being soft and physical are two different things. Bouchard isn’t as physical on the competition as I’d like him to be. That doesn’t mean he’s soft, he does battle. But I’ve never seen him absolutely destroy someone with a body check. Would like to see him and Nurse both learn a bit from Larsson in this regard. Larsson on the defensive side of the puck plays the right way. If Larsson could ever put up 40 points in a season we’d have a #1 dman.

 

[Raab]

You talking about Ray Bourque?
220lbs. Strong as a ox?

Go through like the top 20 guys all time. Most are 6’ and below. Couple around 6’1, 6’2. Hughes size isn’t even an issue with the way he plays the game.

 

[Canovin]

The Oilers simply needed Bouchard or Boqvist more than Hughes. Handiness and the ability to fire the puck were definitely a priority. We have someone similar to Hughes and that's Caleb Jones. Definitely not as good but similar style of player

 

[McSpecial DraiBlend]

Go through like the top 20 guys all time. Most are 6’ and below. Couple around 6’1, 6’2. Hughes size isn’t even an issue with the way he plays the game.

Nope but at times it can make for some limitations defensively. Can't deny that.
Kid sounds like he has all the skill in the world. He will do well.
Happy we ended up with Bouchard in the end.
He seems to have a little of Bouwmeester in him with his lack of emotion though that you mentioned earlier.

 

[McSpecial DraiBlend]

I love to hear how well Jones is doing so far this year.

The Oilers simply needed Bouchard or Boqvist more than Hughes. Handiness and the ability to fire the puck were definitely a priority. We have someone similar to Hughes and that's Caleb Jones. Definitely not as good but similar style of player

 

[Raab]

Nope but at times it can make for some limitations defensively. Can't deny that.
Kid sounds like he has all the skill in the world. He will do well.
Happy we ended up with Bouchard in the end.
He seems to have a little of Bouwmeester in him with his lack of emotion though that you mentioned earlier.

I’m not at all mad with the pick since Hughes was already off the board. The guy I see when I watch Hughes is Paul Coffey which is why I’m so high on him.

So once he was off the board it was between Dobson and Bouchard. I was leaning towards Dobson because he reminds me a lot of Pietrangelo. In saying that I hadn’t heard the Moncton Wildcats story I posted earlier. That would have swayed me towards Bouchard as I had them neck and neck.

And I agree, his Bouwmeester/Pitkanen type attitude is something he should be working on. I’d hope to see him play more physical, but I know London isn’t the team that’ll teach him to do that.

 

[Raab]

The Oilers simply needed Bouchard or Boqvist more than Hughes. Handiness and the ability to fire the puck were definitely a priority. We have someone similar to Hughes and that's Caleb Jones. Definitely not as good but similar style of player

You don’t pass on Paul Coffey because you have Kevin Lowe in the system.

 

[CupofOil]

I've gotta agree with raab here, Hughes is going to be a star. Some guys just have that "it" factor that jumps off the page the moment you watch them and Hughes qualifies. I see a lot of Keith qualities with the way he transports the puck and on ice vision.

It's hard to compare him and Bouchard because they are different players but Hughes has a higher ceiling IMO. I think Bouchard will be a very good player but I don't see top level Dman potential in him. Somebody mentioned Ryan Whitney, I think that's a good comparison. Cerebral, great outlet pass, good shot, will always have some defensive deficiencies. Solid #2, nothing wrong with that.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

why are we even talking about Hughes?
Oilers never had a chance at him

 

[CupofOil]

why are we even talking about Hughes?
Oilers never had a chance at him

Naturally, all the 2nd tier Dmen outside of Dahlin will be compared especially when one plays for the Oilers rival but yeah it doesn't matter anyway since the Oilers had no shot at him.
The Dobson comparison is more apt.

 

[ujju2]

You give Eichel McDavids skating and he is better player... See how that doesn't work. Fact is that he doesn't have that elite skating. No point being those fans and just be happy with who we got without needing him to be the "best" in his class or bringing others down.

If McDavid and Eichel had equal speed, McDavid would still be the better player

 

[Tobias Kahun]

You give Eichel McDavids skating and he is better player... See how that doesn't work. Fact is that he doesn't have that elite skating. No point being those fans and just be happy with who we got without needing him to be the "best" in his class or bringing others down.

Eichel is an elite skater, try watching him some time, there’s a lot more to why mcdavid is better than him

 

[Tobias Kahun]

If McDavid and Eichel had equal speed, McDavid would still be the better player

If mcdavid skates like Adam Larsson he would still be the better player

 

[North]

Has nothing to do with me working and not having time to check on here...

Had plenty of time just before that point.

 

[Raab]

Had plenty of time just before that point.

Yea, posted and went to work for a 16 hour day. Not everyone sits around on the internet all day, every day.

 

[North]

Yea, posted and went to work for a 16 hour day. Not everyone sits around on the internet all day, every day.

Funny how you had the time right up until you were wrong but I mean keep on going.

Not sure if that last part was directed at me but considering the number of posts you have compared to me...

 

[North]

Naturally, all the 2nd tier Dmen outside of Dahlin will be compared especially when one plays for the Oilers rival but yeah it doesn't matter anyway since the Oilers had no shot at him.
The Dobson comparison is more apt.

The issue I have with Dobson is that he doesn't do any one thing great and a lot of times those types of defenders have a harder time translating to the NHL.

 

[Raab]

Funny how you had the time right up until you were wrong but I mean keep on going.

Not sure if that last part was directed at me but considering the number of posts you have compared to me...

Im pretty good at admitting mistakes, but keep trolling...

 

[North]

Im pretty good at admitting mistakes, but keep trolling...

Not trolling just stated what happened. You're the one who got a bee in his bonnet about it and had to respond. You tried to smugly get one over on someone and they pointed out you were wrong and then crickets.

I'll tell you what, you're probably going to respond to this with something wrong as usual so I'll let you do it and I won't reply so that this conversation can die.

 

[Zaddy]

I'm pretty sure the decision to send him down was due to the pending expansion draft.

So why didn't the Sabres send down Dahlin then? Why has any team kept their players from the 2018 draft in the NHL?

Fact is, Dahlin is doing more in the NHL this season despite being a year younger (in terms of hockey experience) and being European, having to translate from the big rinks and a much different game than what is being played in North America. That is not easy as history has shown, and it takes time.

On top of that he's an 18 year old defenseman in the NHL (which in itself is extremely rare) playing around 18 minutes a night, being +4 on a team who has been really bad the last couple of years and he is on pace for around 32 points.

I'd expect his offensive game to improve as the season goes on. His focus is most likely on getting the defensive part of the game down in the NHL first. The offense is there, no question about it, working on the defense is much more important at this point and so far he's doing a real solid job on it as any Sabres fan will tell you.

Even Drew Doughty (who, like Bouchard came from the CHL, was a late birthday and a year older than Dahlin) 'only' put up 27 points and was -17 in his rookie year. Didn't stop him from turning out to be an alright defenseman.

 

[North]

So why didn't the Sabres send down Dahlin then? Why has any team kept their players from the 2018 draft in the NHL?

Fact is, Dahlin is doing more in the NHL this season despite being a year younger (in terms of hockey experience) and being European, having to translate from the big rinks and a much different game than what is being played in North America. That is not easy as history has shown, and it takes time.

On top of that he's an 18 year old defenseman in the NHL (which in itself is extremely rare) playing around 18 minutes a night, being +4 on a team who has been really bad the last couple of years and he is on pace for around 32 points.

I'd expect his offensive game to improve as the season goes on. His focus is most likely on getting the defensive part of the game down in the NHL first. The offense is there, no question about it, working on the defense is much more important at this point and so far he's doing a real solid job on it as any Sabres fan will tell you.

Even Drew Doughty (who, like Bouchard came from the CHL, was a late birthday and a year older than Dahlin) 'only' put up 27 points and was -17 in his rookie year. Didn't stop him from turning out to be an alright defenseman.

Dahlin was number one for a reason.

Bouchard is not on his level and it was clear that he needed to be sent back.

We saw flashes of what Bouchard can become but it's going to take a little longer to get there for him.

 

[bobbythebrain]

Dahlin was number one for a reason.

Bouchard is not on his level and it was clear that he needed to be sent back.

We saw flashes of what Bouchard can become but it's going to take a little longer to get there for him.

Bouchard did not show glaring reasons why he needed to be sent back. Overall, he played rather well, and had way more positive plays than bad

Dahlin was equally making mistakes his first 9 games, and still is.

In the first 9 games, Dahlin was not noticeably better than Bouchard by a large margin, not even close. Maxim Lajoie and Heiskanen are looking better than Dahlin so far....but I stress so far