780il
edm
Thats why I dont see a point in sending him down. He needs to learn defense, the best place to do that for him rn is the AHL. Since thats not an option we need to keep him up and get Yawney to work his magic. We get point production from him that we sorely need while developing his game. Sending him to junior does nothing for him except give him a ton of time and space to do things, time and space he wont have in the NHL.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 at the junior level he could focus on developing his defensive game.