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

[North]

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

I like Bouchard but he was having some difficulty with the defensive aspects of the game.

I do think he's a quick learner and was ironing out issues as he was going.

The thing is I don't think it hurts him to go back to London and get back some offensive confidence. That part of his game was falling by the wayside while he was with the Oilers.

 

[frag2]

No way. Agree that I was shocked to see Bouchard drop to us, but Dahlin is getting severely underrated here (and by nexttothemoon). I watched a ton of Dahlin in his draft year and he showed things I've never seen another defensive prospect do before (granted I'm a serious prospect watcher since 2013 or so). His vision looked very similar to McDavid. So many ridiculous no look passes through traffic, like he had eyes in the back of his head. His skating, just beautiful, especially the edge work. He is really strong for his age and build. And his shot is really good to boot. Dahlin hasn't dominated for Buffalo yet but I'll be surprised if he's not on their top pairing by next season. He's already had a significantly positive impact on their defensive stability when he gets put out there and he's clearly still adjusting.

Don't get me wrong, Bouchard could still be better but I think to say he was in the same category of prospect is just laughable. Dahlin's pre draft accomplishments are much closer to McDavid, Barkov (I thought Barkov should have challenged MacKinnon for 1OA), MacKinnon, Tavares, Matthews than anyone in his draft year.

I think a lot of Dahlin depends on his ability to translate HIS game from big ice to NHL ice. I see him do a lot of fancy work in international and SEL games and always wondered, while he’ll likely pan out eventually, how much of that will actually work.

Having watched some of his Sabres games, I don’t really see anything all the remarkable at this stage. Considering he was touted borderline generational, I’m not seeing that impact one would expect out of a player of that caliber.

Bouchard might not be a “sexy” pick but his offence IMO is off the charts. Best out of that draft. It might not be fancy looking but he plays this simple yet effective game.

I mean if we could draft Dahlin, sure. But if finding a PMD with high level offence, you can’t go wrong with Bouchard.

 

[Canada Drai]

Ya'll talking in this thread like he's not going to bust harder than Griff or Teubert.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Ya'll talking in this thread like he's not going to bust harder than Griff or Teubert.

When did they have a cooking video with Bouchard so that you could write off his career? So far cooking videos are 1/1 in terms of detecting busts.

 

[Cloned]

When did they have a cooking video with Bouchard so that you could write off his career? So far cooking videos are 1/1 in terms of detecting busts.

Lucky for you I don’t think Pulju knows how to cook.

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

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.

What Wildcats story?

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

Another two assists for Bouchard.

 

[Raab]

What Wildcats story?

It’s on page 25. Apparently had attitude issues with the Wildcats who originally drafted and let him go.

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

It’s on page 25. Apparently had attitude issues with the Wildcats who originally drafted and let him go.

Sorry, but this thread only goes up to pg.22 for me, I probably have more posts per page.

What post number?

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

It’s on page 25. Apparently had attitude issues with the Wildcats who originally drafted and let him go.

NVM, found it. Interesting.

 

[snipes]

Over a ppg now

 

[MacT at the Wheel]

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.

The difference between Dahlin staying with the club and Bouchard being sent down is not based on skill but rather the number of protection spots.

The latest expansion offered two options: 7 Forwards, 3 Defence, 1 Goalie or 8 Players, 1 Goalie.

This puts the Oilers in a tough position for players to cover.
Just looking at defence for each team the retention for the D-core looks something like this:

Oilers: Nurse, Klefbom, Larsson (with Bouchard not being eligible for selection)
Losing: Forward outside of top 6 or Benning, Jones, etc.

Sabres: Ristolainen, Dahlin, Beaulieu (Scandella & Bogosian will be UFAs after year 2)
Losing: Most likely a middle 6 forward.

Sabres will be able to cover Dahlin while not losing a major piece. Oilers, if Bouchard stayed up, would be looking at losing one of Klefbom, Larsson, Nurse, or a forward outside of McD, Nuge, Drai, Looch (NMC).

 

[Zaddy]

The difference between Dahlin staying with the club and Bouchard being sent down is not based on skill but rather the number of protection spots.

The latest expansion offered two options: 7 Forwards, 3 Defence, 1 Goalie or 8 Players, 1 Goalie.

This puts the Oilers in a tough position for players to cover.
Just looking at defence for each team the retention for the D-core looks something like this:

Oilers: Nurse, Klefbom, Larsson (with Bouchard not being eligible for selection)
Losing: Forward outside of top 6 or Benning, Jones, etc.

Sabres: Ristolainen, Dahlin, Beaulieu (Scandella & Bogosian will be UFAs after year 2)
Losing: Most likely a middle 6 forward.

Sabres will be able to cover Dahlin while not losing a major piece. Oilers, if Bouchard stayed up, would be looking at losing one of Klefbom, Larsson, Nurse, or a forward outside of McD, Nuge, Drai, Looch (NMC).

So you believe if Oilers had the #1 pick they would have sent down Dahlin?

 

[lakai17]

A side note is London will be on sportsnet here shortly

 

[snipes]

Partnered up with Boqvist on the top pairing for London

 

[MacT at the Wheel]

So you believe if Oilers had the #1 pick they would have sent down Dahlin?

Probably not due to draft pedigree. I mean the situation was that the Oilers were 7-4-1 and the team was on a bit of a hot streak. Bouchard had 1 G and was -5 with 7 GP averaging 12 minutes a night. Dahlin in his first 9 games had 1 G 2 A and was -1 with 19 minutes a night. I mean, if Dahlin was drafted 10th overall and utilized like Bouchard we probably would have sent him down too. It's not a slight against either defenceman nor a comparison between the two but rather the Oilers protecting their assets for the expansion draft.

 

[Zaddy]

Probably not due to draft pedigree. I mean the situation was that the Oilers were 7-4-1 and the team was on a bit of a hot streak. Bouchard had 1 G and was -5 with 7 GP averaging 12 minutes a night. Dahlin in his first 9 games had 1 G 2 A and was -1 with 19 minutes a night. I mean, if Dahlin was drafted 10th overall and utilized like Bouchard we probably would have sent him down too. It's not a slight against either defenceman nor a comparison between the two but rather the Oilers protecting their assets for the expansion draft.

Well I hope you and the other Dahlin detractors watched the game tonight. Goal and assist, +2 in 19 minutes of ice time and showing some glimpses of what he's capable of and the type of stuff he has vowed us with in Sweden over the past 2 years. Looks like he can make plays on small ice too, shocker

Mind you this is an 18 year old defenseman adjusting to a lot of things right now and just getting his feet wet in this league.

 

[MacT at the Wheel]

Well I hope you and the other Dahlin detractors watched the game tonight. Goal and assist, +2 in 19 minutes of ice time and showing some glimpses of what he's capable of and the type of stuff he has vowed us with in Sweden over the past 2 years. Looks like he can make plays on small ice too, shocker

Mind you this is an 18 year old defenseman adjusting to a lot of things right now and just getting his feet wet in this league.

Seems like you're missing my point.

 

[Zaddy]

Seems like you're missing my point.

No, I fully understand your point but I don't agree with it. And I also don't think you can say "if Dahlin was drafted 10th overall", that's a faulty argument to begin with because Dahlin wasn't drafted 10th overall and there was a good reason for that.

 

[Soundwave]

Well I hope you and the other Dahlin detractors watched the game tonight. Goal and assist, +2 in 19 minutes of ice time and showing some glimpses of what he's capable of and the type of stuff he has vowed us with in Sweden over the past 2 years. Looks like he can make plays on small ice too, shocker

Mind you this is an 18 year old defenseman adjusting to a lot of things right now and just getting his feet wet in this league.

Yeah that kid can play. Good on the Sabres for finally hitting the jackpot.

 

[MacT at the Wheel]

No, I fully understand your point but I don't agree with it. And I also don't think you can say "if Dahlin was drafted 10th overall", that's a faulty argument to begin with because Dahlin wasn't drafted 10th overall and there was a good reason for that.

The point I'm trying to make is the Oiler's have two choices.

Play an 18 y.o. defenceman this year and protect 9 assets in 2 years.
Send the 18 y.o. defenceman down and protect 11 assets in 2 years.

That's all.

Buffalo is in a position where keeping Dahlin doesn't change anything for the expansion draft.
The Oiler's are in a position where they'd lose a valuable asset if they kept Bouchard up.

Not sure how that makes me a Dahlin detractor lol.

If the Oiler's thought the 18 y.o. was enough of a difference maker that it would make them strong contenders for the cup, then sure, keep him up and figure out the expansion draft protection slots when the time comes. If not, I don't see the point in keeping him up.

Oilers in the last expansion draft weren't too concerned with losing a player like Reinhart, Khaira, Kassian, etc.
In this expansion draft we're looking at losing the one of Yamamoto, Benning, Puljujaarvi, Benson, Jones, Bear, etc. whichever one is best in 2 years (if we were to keep Bouchard or Dahlin for this scenario). That's a pretty big difference in caliber of players.

 

[Zaddy]

The point I'm trying to make is the Oiler's have two choices.

Play an 18 y.o. defenceman this year and protect 9 assets in 2 years.
Send the 18 y.o. defenceman down and protect 11 assets in 2 years.

That's all.

Buffalo is in a position where keeping Dahlin doesn't change anything for the expansion draft.
The Oiler's are in a position where they'd lose a valuable asset if they kept Bouchard up.

Not sure how that makes me a Dahlin detractor lol.

If the Oiler's thought the 18 y.o. was enough of a difference maker that it would make them strong contenders for the cup, then sure, keep him up and figure out the expansion draft protection slots when the time comes. If not, I don't see the point in keeping him up.

Oilers in the last expansion draft weren't too concerned with losing a player like Reinhart, Khaira, Kassian, etc.
In this expansion draft we're looking at losing the one of Yamamoto, Benning, Puljujaarvi, Benson, Jones, Bear, etc. whichever one is best in 2 years (if we were to keep Bouchard or Dahlin for this scenario). That's a pretty big difference in caliber of players.

I'm not arguing against the logic of Bouchard being sent down or anything, my point is that Dahlin would've stayed up on any team regardless of the expansion draft. He's a special player and players like him you keep up because you want him to get as many reps in at the NHL level as quickly as possible, because that is very clearly the best place for these type of players to develop and to become impact players faster.

Bouchard is not in that tier of players, very few are. That's basically what I'm arguing. Doesn't mean that Bouchard couldn't have survived and done reasonably well in the NHL over a full season, that's a completely different discussion and not what I'm arguing about.

As for the 'detractors' comment, it wasn't necessarily directed at you but more in general to the people in this thread who seem to think they're on the same level as prospects or that if Bouchard only was a little bit better of a skater he'd be just as good as Dahlin, which is asinine, and I say that as someone who likes and appreciates Bouchard.

 

[McShogun99]

I watched a few Sabre’s games earlier in the season, specifically to watch Dahlin. If you weren’t looking for him you wouldn’t even notice him which is great for an 18 year old Dman. He was playing a smart, safe, error free game. Once he starts getting comfortable the points will start coming for him.

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

A goal and a primary assist today.

 

[780il]

Over ppg and +11

Stud