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

[Tyrolean]

What makes you think Bouchard wasn't the BPA?
Did CBJ take the BPA when they passed on Pulju for Dubois?

I meant consensus as BPA but the draft is such a craps hoot that it is best to sometimes so with the consensus.

 

[TheNumber4]

My thoughts exactly. Like I said when Benningwas signed, Bouchard is going to make him obsolete very fast and he'll go from overpaid to ridiculously overpaid.

 

[Mr Positive]

With Bouchard, the highlights will be amazing. When it works, it will be like our team is finally complete, with the puck moving around, ending with a wicked Bouchard shot, and it bounces off a player, and then one of our forwards grabs the rebound and rips it home. There will be great passes by Bouchard, and shots that blow by the goalies too.

And yet, overall he will be a minus, and we won't be in playoff position.

I pray I'm wrong on that last point.

 

[780il]

With Bouchard, the highlights will be amazing. When it works, it will be like our team is finally complete, with the puck moving around, ending with a wicked Bouchard shot, and it bounces off a player, and then one of our forwards grabs the rebound and rips it home. There will be great passes by Bouchard, and shots that blow by the goalies too.

And yet, overall he will be a minus, and we won't be in playoff position.

I pray I'm wrong on that last point.

If we have Klef and Larss doing all the heavylifting/put him with a steady partner like Nurse then I dont think he would be as bad defensively as people think.

 

[oobga]

If we have Klef and Larss doing all the heavylifting/put him with a steady partner like Nurse then I dont think he would be as bad defensively as people think.

Worry a bit if he ends up on a 3rd pair with Russell. Russell buries his D partners in their own end and depends on the other guy 95% of the time to move that puck out of the zone. That'll be a lot of pressure on the kid.

 

[LTIR]

We still have 11 Dmen left in the camp not including Sekera. If
Bouchard gets a 9 game look then we send Bear down to AHL.
We will have to waive/walk away from 2 of Garrison, Jerabek and Gravel

 

[LTIR]

Worry a bit if he ends up on a 3rd pair with Russell. Russell buries his D partners in their own end and depends on the other guy 95% of the time to move that puck out of the zone. That'll be a lot of pressure on the kid.

If there are worries then we send him down. You cant keep him up and worry about playing him with Nurse or Russell. Klefa would be the only other option.
Nurse Larsson.. Russell-Benning
Klefbom-Bouchard

 

[Raoul Duke]

We still have 11 Dmen left in the camp not including Sekera. If
Bouchard gets a 9 game look then we send Bear down to AHL.
We will have to waive/walk away from 2 of Garrison, Jerabek and Gravel

I don’t see this as a major problem.

 

[Tyrolean]

Be nice to have defencemen that can actually defend. Larsson is the most reliable at that.

 

[guymez]

Whats not to like with Bouchard. I was pumping this kids tires and suggesting that he had a great chance of making the team just based on his skillset and how badly the Oilers need what he brings.
I still think thats a strong possibility but his defence really concerns me.
I also dont know if the team can shelter him properly.

If Russell plays on the Left side (his natural position) he is much better at moving the puck than if he plays on the right side. Being on the backhand along the boards is very tough for a dman....and it shows in Russells game. He is a vet though and a good vet.
So perhaps Russell would be a good choice but that creates a hole on the 2nd pairing which would be filled by Benning.
Not sure i am comfortable with that. I think that Benning is going to be a solid #4/#5 dman in time but that time hasnt arrived yet IMO.

This is a tough situation...really tough not having Sekera.

 

[Spawn]

We still have 11 Dmen left in the camp not including Sekera. If
Bouchard gets a 9 game look then we send Bear down to AHL.
We will have to waive/walk away from 2 of Garrison, Jerabek and Gravel

Could also just not sign Garrison and go with 8D and 13F (which also means neither Chiasson or Upshall get deals).

Bouchard's contract might work against him though. We're already risking overages for next season with Pulju. Bouchard would add to that risk.

 

[Blue Line Turnover]

Whats not to like with Bouchard. I was pumping this kids tires and suggesting that he had a great chance of making the team just based on his skillset and how badly the Oilers need what he brings.
I still think thats a strong possibility but his defence really concerns me.
I also dont know if the team can shelter him properly.

If Russell plays on the Left side (his natural position) he is much better at moving the puck than if he plays on the right side. Being on the backhand along the boards is very tough for a dman....and it shows in Russells game. He is a vet though and a good vet.
So perhaps Russell would be a good choice but that creates a hole on the 2nd pairing which would be filled by Benning.
Not sure i am comfortable with that. I think that Benning is going to be a solid #4/#5 dman in time but that time hasnt arrived yet IMO.

This is a tough situation...really tough not having Sekera.

Yeah, a healthy Sekera is the glue that holds the D together. I tend to forget what a high calibre defenseman he has been for the majority of his career

 

[nexttothemoon]

Gotta say it....

Nurse-Larsson
Russell-Benning
Klefbom-Bouchard


This is a killer set of pairings.

Why?

Because you have the 2 most reliable defensive forwards on that 1st pairing. Not enough offense some would say. Well I think there would be because Larsson is a rock defensively and Nurse has some untapped offensive potential (top 35 in ES pts last season)... so he could have the green light to go for more offense. Could be a very nice combo with Nurse's speed, especially with the apparent new focus on speed in the systems being implemented on the team.

Russell-Benning. Most will hate this combo but you have a pretty solid vet defensive dman and a younger dman with some untapped offensive potential. This is a lesser version of the top pairing with less skill and talent BUT I think with slightly less minutes this pairing can be a steady tread water pairing at a minimum.

Now the master stroke.. this 3rd pairing of Klefbom and Bouchard puts two defensively weak dmen together... BUT they also both have strong shots AND playing on the 3rd pairing they could be fed slightly easier zone starts and face slightly easier competition as well. This could be a solid duo which I think creates some chaos at both ends but I think overall could be a net positive.

Gravel would be a solid #7 to sub in if things go pear shaped on one of those pairings.. and you let Bouchard watch and let him get his 9 games more slowly than all at once at the start of the season (where it's important that the team gets off to a good start).

 

[oil85]

Gotta say it....

Nurse-Larsson
Russell-Benning
Klefbom-Bouchard


This is a killer set of pairings.

Why?

Because...

Peter Chiarelli is this you??

 

[McSpecial DraiBlend]

I trust that Yawney will put the best players on the ice that he thinks will help the team. Guy has done amazing stuff with Anaheims D. If that player is Bouchard theb I will accept his choice.
Also maybe Yawney can get Russell back to his early Calgary days where he was actually pretty decent at transporting the puck and getting it to other players.

 

[PaPaDee]

From what I’ve seen thus far, my preference would be to have him return to junior. I’m very excited about the offensive game he’s shown, but he needs time to figure out his defensive game and positioning. Having said that, it seems likely he’ll atleast start with the big club. Hopefully he can show some significant strides away from the puck.

 

[McDrai]

He's the best puck mover on our team in my opinion. I would like to have the luxury of sending him down but our D is pretty iffy without him in the lineup.

 

[Louis Cypher]

Nurse - Larson
Klefbom - Benning
Russel - Bouchard

For the tough defensive battle teams go:
Gravel - Russel

Keep Gravel and maybe Jarabek. Never been a fan of Garrison so pass on him.

 

[LTIR]

Nurse - Larson
Klefbom - Benning
Russel - Bouchard

For the tough defensive battle teams go:
Gravel - Russel

Keep Gravel and maybe Jarabek. Never been a fan of Garrison so pass on him.

Garrison has looked the best out of the fringe NHLer guys this preseason. Better than Gravel, Jerebek, Bear and even Benning.
Jerebek has looked the weakest.

 

[CupofOil]

Whats not to like with Bouchard. I was pumping this kids tires and suggesting that he had a great chance of making the team just based on his skillset and how badly the Oilers need what he brings.
I still think thats a strong possibility but his defence really concerns me.
I also dont know if the team can shelter him properly.

If Russell plays on the Left side (his natural position) he is much better at moving the puck than if he plays on the right side. Being on the backhand along the boards is very tough for a dman....and it shows in Russells game. He is a vet though and a good vet.
So perhaps Russell would be a good choice but that creates a hole on the 2nd pairing which would be filled by Benning.
Not sure i am comfortable with that. I think that Benning is going to be a solid #4/#5 dman in time but that time hasnt arrived yet IMO.

This is a tough situation...really tough not having Sekera.

This is exactly my concern. It would be fine giving him a shot if the Oilers could shelter him properly but they just don't have the steadying presence on the left side that can ease him in and this is where they miss Sekera. Klefbom and Nurse are too inconsistent and I don't think Russell is reliable enough to cover Bouchard's defensive flaws.

Here's the thing with Bouchard. It's not like he just makes a few defensive errors, it happens a lot from junior to summer showcases to rookie tournaments, even in practice scrimmages and now in preseason. I like the his offensive game a ton and he has all the looks of a Dman that will succeed on a top pairing one day but the defensive game isn't there right now, it's not even close. I don't know how much going back to London will help his defensive game but I do know that the NHL isn't a development league especially for young Dmen that have a major deficiency and on a team that can't shelter him properly.

The fact of the matter is that he's only in the discussion for making the roster because the Oilers defense isn't good enough as is and that's a really bad reason to push him into the lineup, it should be based on his performance not team need. On a good defense, he wouldn't make that trip to Europe.

I'm really concerned about the defense as a whole. Outside of Larsson and Russell on the bottom.pairing, there's too many questions. Klef and Nurse should be solid but we're really not sure what they are yet. Everything else is a mess to be quite honest.

 

[780il]

Worry a bit if he ends up on a 3rd pair with Russell. Russell buries his D partners in their own end and depends on the other guy 95% of the time to move that puck out of the zone. That'll be a lot of pressure on the kid.

Having Russel with him is not good imo. If TMac is hell bent on having him on the third pair and not with Nurse in the top 4, then I would put Russel with Nurse. Then have Bouch on the bottom pair with one of Garrison/Gravel who can both somewhat get the puck out and wont negatively affect his stats.

 

[Dempsey]

I hope they just send him down if he needs it. Remember that there's an expansion draft coming.

 

[ujju2]

I think Russell-Bouchard could actually be a pretty good third pairing.

 

[nexttothemoon]

Garrison-Bouchard would be an entertaining 3rd pairing as well... 2 bombs on the 3rd pairing seeing reduced minutes and lesser competition... they'd eat up the opposition 3rd and 4th lines.

I do admit here that I'm living in the past somewhat when it comes to Garrison's shot and abilities... but he used to be pretty solid from the point and hopefully he still has some of that left in his game.

 

[Raab]

It amazes me people cant see how much Bouchard's game changes the dynamic of our defence. I have a very very hard time sending him back simply because of that. Also theres the fact he'd be going to London which doesn't focus at all on defence.

Edit: If he played in the WHL for a team like Red Deer, the decision would be much tougher. As at least then he could focus on developing his defensive game at the junior level.