Player Discussion Evan Bouchard: One for the Money, Two for the Bouch

[Stoneman89]

Good point. I wanted him in the AHL last year and I’m on record as saying that. My point was that people forget he’s a rookie because he’s hung around so long.

I think he should have been in the AHL as well, and refined his game. They made a mistake, it appears in hindsight.

 

[Oilhawks]

I think he should have been in the AHL as well, and refined his game. They made a mistake, it appears in hindsight.

If they weren’t going to send him down, the dummy coaches should have worked him into more games. Even the genius GM said he felt Bouchard should play more

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

If they weren’t going to send him down, the dummy coaches should have worked him into more games. Even the genius GM said he felt Bouchard should play more

Agree but when it became obvious to Holland that Tippett was going to try to coach up Bear versus develop Bouchard, Holland should have made the move rather than keep Bouchard on the taxi squad.

Even this season Tippett was saying that a lot of this season will ride on how Bouchard plays. I think he may have thought that we should have kept Bear and let Bouchard develop another year in the minors.

 

[Da McBomb]

Hopefully the fans are more patient with Bouchard than they were with J Schultz.

 

[TheNumber4]

Woody said that they got away from their structure last night and it cost them. Was that it? Or was the structure exposed?

 

[Oilhawks]

Woody said that they got away from their structure last night and it cost them. Was that it? Or was the structure exposed?

Structure was fine against other playoff teams. But Woody and Co needed to make some more adjustments that might have kept the game closer as well

 

[LTIR]

Hopefully the fans are more patient with Bouchard than they were with J Schultz.

Yup this, that wasn't the typical Bouchard out last night.. can't really judge him on an off night where he played worse than peewee level Dmen.


Let's see how he and Nurse bounce from the pathetic outing.

 

[Oilhawks]

Eh, Nurse will get run out of town far sooner than Bouchard. Jultz was paid more and fans realized that Petry was gone in large part due to Schultz being valued more highly by management

 

[MessierII]

I don’t understand anyone’s issue with Bouchard. He’s pretty much exactly what I expected and hoped he would be at this point.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Give him time, he is very young and even if he never improves defensively, he could still be a great 3rd pairing guy that provides offense at ES and on the PP.

 

[MessierII]

Give him time, he is very young and even if he never improves defensively, he could still be a great 3rd pairing guy that provides offense at ES and on the PP.

I think he already is that. D men take time. Freaking Rasmus Dahlin #1 overall is just starting to look like the guy he was billed as after 200+ nhl games. It’s going to be about that before we know what we have in Bouchard.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

I think he already is that. D men take time. Freaking Rasmus Dahlin #1 overall is just starting to look like the guy he was billed as after 200+ nhl games. It’s going to be about that before we know what we have in Bouchard.

It's not his fault that Holland built the D with another offensive RD and a guy that should be a 2nd pairing all around RD. We need a solid defensively sound RD with an edge to his game to replace Barrie for this to have the right mix on the right side.

 

[McDNicks17]

Woody said that they got away from their structure last night and it cost them. Was that it? Or was the structure exposed?

I think teams have figured out that moving the puck from wing to wing on the rush makes the Oilers discombobulate.

It's how that 2 on 5 backbreaker happened against Dallas and it's how Calgary scored almost all their goals last night.

 

[Slats432]

I have been more vocal with my real life friends on how unimpressed I have been with Bouchard, as he continues his development. Early on you could see that he plays with a laissez faire attitude with not enough urgency for an NHL player. He has great offensive instincts and a great shot, but gaping holes in his game that need to be worked out.

 

[Trafalgar Sadge Law]

I think he should have been in the AHL as well, and refined his game. They made a mistake, it appears in hindsight.

The big mistake was hiring Ken Holland. Imagine being such an incompetent owner you hire Bob "Toby Reider 0 goals" Nicholson, and then allow him to pass on Bill Zito twice to hire the worst general manager on the planet twice in a row.

 

[Trafalgar Sadge Law]

Woody said that they got away from their structure last night and it cost them. Was that it? Or was the structure exposed?

There's nothing wrong with the structure. We were outshooting Calgary by a 2:1 margin for half the game and had something like 60% expected goals for up until the final period. The dog shit goaltending f***ed us for 2 periods and the team was clearly mental boomed by the 3rd period.

 

[bucks_oil]

Woody said that they got away from their structure last night and it cost them. Was that it? Or was the structure exposed?

I don't think the structure is telling Nurse to forget about his entire half of the ice and go puck chasing when Ceci is already on the puck and with decent gap control.

Nurse is like a moth to a light... he just doesn't have to he patience to play his position when he's on the weak side of the ice. To my eyes, 90% of his mistakes are puck fixated when he should be focusing on his man and directing traffic to the forwards coming back so they pick up theirs.

I still have hope, it takes experience, but man alive he's getting old to be learning what it means to be a LEADER on the back end. He's still playing like the highly talented rover that he is, and nothing more.

 

[Stoneman89]

Bouchard is nothing more than a victim and product of Ken Holland's incompetence specifically and the Oilers organization's incompetence generally.

 

[GOilers88]

Hopefuly Woodcroft doesn't expect him to win any Norris trophies

 

[FlameChampion]

Bouchard is such a weird prospect/player.

The guy makes some amazing outlet passes. Makes some pretty nice plays in the offensive zone.

And then he will just turn around and flub a pass in the defensive zone.

He will make high IQ plays and then turn around and make decisions that you go WTF?

I think we have to be patient with him but at the same time, some of the same mistakes are pretty concerning.

Hopefully Bouchard can start to play with more focus and urgency moving forward. Thats kind of been the knock on him though, hes plays too casually.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Shouldn't even be here if we're being honest. MAB plays better defense than Bouchard.

 

[bobbythebrain]

 

[The Nuge]

40 points in his first full NHL season is damn impressive. He’s 22. The defensive side will come. It’s not like he’s completely inept. Just inconsistent

 

[Aerchon]

I don't think the structure is telling Nurse to forget about his entire half of the ice and go puck chasing when Ceci is already on the puck and with decent gap control.

Nurse is like a moth to a light... he just doesn't have to he patience to play his position when he's on the weak side of the ice. To my eyes, 90% of his mistakes are puck fixated when he should be focusing on his man and directing traffic to the forwards coming back so they pick up theirs.

I still have hope, it takes experience, but man alive he's getting old to be learning what it means to be a LEADER on the back end. He's still playing like the highly talented rover that he is, and nothing more.

I didn't look at the dates. Have not been in this thread for awhile. Nurse again completely abandoned his ice on occasion. I think the coach needs to spend a lot of video time with him to get rid of his roving a bit more. Although we all enjoyed his hit on Benn.

Good to see Bouchard starting to gain traction under Woodcroft. His minutes took a huge hit after Woodcroft started and he has slowly started earning them back.

Pretty much exactly what I was expecting from him this year. Hope he continues to grow. Needs a faster first step and obviously a bit more physicality/hustle at times.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

40 points and 33 of them are at ES (good for 18th in the NHL). If/when he finally takes over the point spot on the top PP we could be looking at a 60+ point defenseman.