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

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Bryanbryoil

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Sep 13, 2004
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Looking forward to seeing if he plays with more confidence after potting his first NHL goal.
 

5 14 6 1

We are the 11.5%
Sep 15, 2010
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I was very impressed with him last night. He is very calm with the puck, seems unfazed by NHL pressure. Already seeing him make moves and get himself out of trouble and make passes for good chances.
 
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Bank Shot

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I was very impressed with him last night. He is very calm with the puck, seems unfazed by NHL pressure. Already seeing him make moves and get himself out of trouble and make passes for good chances.

He barely played and was on for two goals against.

I think he looks pretty good when the puck is on his stick, but its not on his stick enough.

I don't think he looks very good when he's defending.
 
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nexttothemoon

and again...
Jan 30, 2010
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Most young dmen with less than a handful of NHL games don't look great while defending... hell there's a few examples of Oilers dmen that many will name that don't look good while defending with a lot more than 4 games experience. :)

Bouchard will be fine with reduced minutes to start... and gradually increasing his time and responsibilities.
 
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ConnorMcMullet

#12 Colby Cave
Jun 10, 2017
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Meanwhile, Boqvist has 0 goals and 5 assists in 8 games in the OHL, while Dobson has 7 points in 9 games in the QMJHL. For reference, Bouchard put up 87 points in 67 gp, 1.3 points/game, in the OHL last year.

Quinton Hughes has also been held pointless in his first NCAA game.

Bouchard looking like a steal at 10. :)
 

guymez

The Seldom Seen Kid
Mar 3, 2004
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He barely played and was on for two goals against.

I think he looks pretty good when the puck is on his stick, but its not on his stick enough.

I don't think he looks very good when he's defending.

He was indeed on the ice for 2 goals but he was not the primary reason those goals were scored.
One of the shortcomings with plus/minus stats.

Bouchard is going to make mistakes and be on the ice when goals against are scored....there is no doubt about that.
The real problem is when the vets on the ice to support him make the primary mistakes.

He needs to be properly supported. If he is then IMO he will be just fine.
 

oiler4ever

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Jul 29, 2004
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He barely played and was on for two goals against.

I think he looks pretty good when the puck is on his stick, but its not on his stick enough.

I don't think he looks very good when he's defending.
With Yawney, he is only going to get better. Good assistant coach since Huddy for the D.
 

TaroTsujimoto

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Apr 20, 2014
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I don't think Bouchard is helping the team right now. His shooting has been a bit disappointing so far, and he is poor defensively. Too bad AHL is not an option.
 

Aerchon

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He was indeed on the ice for 2 goals but he was not the primary reason those goals were scored.
One of the shortcomings with plus/minus stats.

Bouchard is going to make mistakes and be on the ice when goals against are scored....there is no doubt about that.
The real problem is when the vets on the ice to support him make the primary mistakes.

He needs to be properly supported. If he is then IMO he will be just fine.

He absolutely was the primary reason the first goal was scored against us. He was completely lost.

Rest of the game he was at least good and was not responsible for the other goal against.

He has earned all 9 games easily. He already is a decent #6 nhl defender with massive upside.

Im torn. Think he will be fine if he stays or goes back down. Sucks he cant go to the Ahl. Certainly is pro ready.
 

guymez

The Seldom Seen Kid
Mar 3, 2004
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He absolutely was the primary reason the first goal was scored against us. He was completely lost.

Rest of the game he was at least good and was not responsible for the other goal against.

He has earned all 9 games easily. He already is a decent #6 nhl defender with massive upside.

Im torn. Think he will be fine if he stays or goes back down. Sucks he cant go to the Ahl. Certainly is pro ready.

Disagree.
If you watch the sequence just before the goal it was JJ that threw the puck softly into the middle of the ice which was what gave the Bruins the grade A chance in the first place. That goal was primarily due to JJ's poor decision with the puck. The correct play was to dump it out along the boards.

Now IMO Bouchard looked a little lost once that sequence started and Boston had the puck on their stick...things happened very quickly and an immediate read was necessary. I have seen vet Dmen make that same mistake though.
I think the game (obviously) just needs to slow down for him (and it will) but by my eye he was not the cause of that goal.
 

Raab

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Meanwhile, Boqvist has 0 goals and 5 assists in 8 games in the OHL, while Dobson has 7 points in 9 games in the QMJHL. For reference, Bouchard put up 87 points in 67 gp, 1.3 points/game, in the OHL last year.

Quinton Hughes has also been held pointless in his first NCAA game.

Bouchard looking like a steal at 10. :)

I wouldn't count out Dobson and Hughes yet. As many know I wasn't a big fan of Boqvist last year. But the other two I believe will be right there with Bouchard. Would have liked to get all of them along with Zadina. It's to bad we didn't have 4 top 10 picks!
 

frag2

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Mar 8, 2006
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I wouldn't count out Dobson and Hughes yet. As many know I wasn't a big fan of Boqvist last year. But the other two I believe will be right there with Bouchard. Would have liked to get all of them along with Zadina. It's to bad we didn't have 4 top 10 picks!

Bouchard might not be the best all arounder out of his draft but he is the best at generating offence from the backend.

It’s a shame our dumbass coaches still think Klefbom is someone special and has him on PP1.
 

Aerchon

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Jul 20, 2011
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Disagree.
If you watch the sequence just before the goal it was JJ that threw the puck softly into the middle of the ice which was what gave the Bruins the grade A chance in the first place. That goal was primarily due to JJ's poor decision with the puck. The correct play was to dump it out along the boards.

Now IMO Bouchard looked a little lost once that sequence started and Boston had the puck on their stick...things happened very quickly and an immediate read was necessary. I have seen vet Dmen make that same mistake though.
I think the game (obviously) just needs to slow down for him (and it will) but by my eye he was not the cause of that goal.

Turn overs and giveaways happen ALL the time in the Nhl. No offense but your assessment is geared to be apologetic towards Bouchard and nothing else. The whole point of the role of a defensemen is to be in position to defend... Not to say JK was free and clear of blame, just that Bouchard was free and clear of anything resembling defensive coverage and thats on him primarily.

Bouchard was lost. Not even on the right side of the ice and it was his poor positioning that gave up a high end scoring chance that most nhlers would bury.

Let's not get lost in the forest for staring at one tree. Bouchard has been great overall and as I keep repeating im fine if they keep him or send him down.
 
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guymez

The Seldom Seen Kid
Mar 3, 2004
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Turn overs and giveaways happen ALL the time in the Nhl. No offense but your assessment is geared to be apologetic towards Bouchard and nothing else. The whole point of the role of a defensemen is to be in position to defend... Not to say JK was free and clear of blame, just that Bouchard was free and clear of anything resembling defensive coverage and thats on him primarily.

Bouchard was lost. Not even on the right side of the ice and it was his poor positioning that gave up a high end scoring chance that most nhlers would bury.

Let's not get lost in the forest for staring at one tree. Bouchard has been great overall and as I keep repeating im fine if they keep him or send him down.

You are missing the point. The point is the Bouchard was NOT the primary reason for the goal. The bad play by JJ was the primary reason for the goal. Its not apologetic to Bouchard...its just a recognition of what actually happened on the play in question.
As I said...Bouchard made a mistake too but that was in response to JJ's major error and mistakes are more likely to happen in response to a major turnover.
Watch the play again.

Bouchard is a defensive work in progress. I dont think anybody is arguing that but lets not saddle him with primary errors that weren't his doing.
 

Aerchon

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Jul 20, 2011
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You are missing the point. The point is the Bouchard was NOT the primary reason for the goal. The bad play by JJ was the primary reason for the goal. Its not apologetic to Bouchard...its just a recognition of what actually happened on the play in question.
As I said...Bouchard made a mistake too but that was in response to JJ's major error and mistakes are more likely to happen in response to a major turnover.
Watch the play again.

Bouchard is a defensive work in progress. I dont think anybody is arguing that but lets not saddle him with primary errors that weren't his doing.

To each thier own but... If Bouchard wasn't lost that doesn't go in. Its his job to be in position. Turn overs happen ALL the time. Its not something that should surprise a defender... Or anyone. Its something everyone is constantly aware of. Every game in multitudes even the best players in the world making them.

If JK turned the puck over and he was covering for a defender, aka the last guy back, yes it would be his fualt.
 

guymez

The Seldom Seen Kid
Mar 3, 2004
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To each thier own but... If Bouchard wasn't lost that doesn't go in. Its his job to be in position. Turn overs happen ALL the time. Its not something that should surprise a defender... Or anyone. Its something everyone is constantly aware of. Every game in multitudes even the best players in the world making them.

If JK turned the puck over and he was covering for a defender, aka the last guy back, yes it would be his fualt.

The bottom line here is that you cant just gloss over JJ's mistake by saying it happens all the time. The point is that it was JJ who committed the primary error...not Bouchard.
 

Aerchon

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The bottom line here is that you cant just gloss over JJ's mistake by saying it happens all the time. The point is that it was JJ who committed the primary error...not Bouchard.

So your saying if Bouchard forgot to tie a safety line to something to anchor JK being repelled down a cliff and JK lost his grip on line and fell to his death it would be his own dang fualt...

Its Bouchards responsibity to be there, in position to protect the box. He is the primary person responsible. Imo, to each thier own. If Bouchard was in place pressuring the shooter it hypothetically could be on Talbot more than JK... Purely hypothetical in that situation of course.

There was no reason for Bouchard to be out of position there. Failing to clear the zone sucks but its part of the game.
 

guymez

The Seldom Seen Kid
Mar 3, 2004
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So your saying if Bouchard forgot to tie a safety line to something to anchor JK being repelled down a cliff and JK lost his grip on line and fell to his death it would be his own dang fualt...

Its Bouchards responsibity to be there, in position to protect the box. He is the primary person responsible. Imo, to each thier own. If Bouchard was in place pressuring the shooter it hypothetically could be on Talbot more than JK... Purely hypothetical in that situation of course.

There was no reason for Bouchard to be out of position there. Failing to clear the zone sucks but its part of the game.

No...I am saying that Bouchard did make a mistake BUT the primary mistake was made by JJ.
You know...the mistake you are trying to gloss over by suggesting that mistakes happen. Then after glossing over the primary mistake (the most critical mistake) you focus on a secondary mistake made by Bouchard.
Bouchard made that mistake because (after JJ's mistake) now he is reacting to an extreme situation.

Here is the deal...JJ wasn't in an extreme situation when he made the primary mistake. Thats the difference here.
JJ's error created an extreme situation. Thats why it is considered a primary error.

Thats also why Bouchards secondary mistake was much more understandable and justifiable than JJ's.
 

Aerchon

Registered User
Jul 20, 2011
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No...I am saying that Bouchard did make a mistake BUT the primary mistake was made by JJ.
You know...the mistake you are trying to gloss over by suggesting that mistakes happen. Then after glossing over the primary mistake (the most critical mistake) you focus on a secondary mistake made by Bouchard.
Bouchard made that mistake because (after JJ's mistake) now he is reacting to an extreme situation.

Here is the deal...JJ wasn't in an extreme situation when he made the primary mistake. Thats the difference here.
JJ's error created an extreme situation. Thats why it is considered a primary error.

Thats also why Bouchards secondary mistake was much more understandable and justifiable than JJ's.

This will probably go on forever no matter what I say but ill keep biting.

There is no reason in the history of the nhl to logically be where Bouchard was on that goal against. There is nothing "understandable" about the mistake Bouchard made. It was a complete and utter mental collapse. Its like the controller died and the avatar just randomly goes in the opposite direction you want it to go. The mistake JK made is made every game by every player just trying to do thier best.

Bouchard has made these kind of mistakes typically once per gameish. Which is absolutely acceptable for a first year defenseman. Actually only once per game relatively speaking is dang good. Doesn't change that when he does make a mistake its a grade A one that can easily end up in the back of our net.

He isn't a top 4 ready defender yet. He averages 14 min a night and sheltered minutes to boot. He is doing great for his first year and is getting better every game. Thats awesome. No reason to gloss over his few mistakes.
 
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