Tag Archives: Evan Bouchard

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Edmonton Oilers: Four Training Camp Thoughts + Possible Alternate Jersey Leak

The Edmonton Oilers will play their first pre-season game versus the Winnipeg Jets tomorrow night and I’d have to say things have been interesting in camp this year so far. We’ve got a couple of veterans who’ve yet to make an appearance in Kris Russell (concussion) and Mike Smith (flu) and some who’ve had lots of exposure but haven’t taken the bull by the horns yet.

1. Cooper Marody

The annual Joey Moss Cup went this evening and it was a landslide 7-1 win for Team White over Team Blue, here were the rosters:

Team Blue: G: Wells, S. Starrett D: Persson, Bear, Jones, Lagesson, Kulevich: F: Malone, Peluso, Currie, Gambardella, B. Starrett, Esposito, Safin, Marody, Maksimov, Jurco

Team White: G: Rodrigue, Skinner D: Manning, Lowe, Desharnais, Bouchard, Samorukov, Day F: Nygard, Cave, Hebig, Benson, P. Russell, Lavoie, Vesey, McLeod, Haas

I wasn’t at the game for obvious reasons, so I’m left making judgments on it via the information I can gather from social media and once again, the lack of positive reports on Cooper Marody after a summer of hype is concerning, but not a surprise to this writer. There wasn’t even a mention of him in Bruce McCurdy’s review of the game…

In two rookie games and an intra-squad scrimmage (without the team’s top players involved no less), he’s found a way to become irrelevant.

How long can we give him the benefit of the doubt here? He was asked about his skating by Jason Gregor in an interview not too long ago and he brushed it off like it was nothing.

“For me, I don’t see that being an issue. There are a lot of players in the NHL that fly around the ice, but I’m more of a thinker and there is no wasted strides, no wasted movements. I know the NHL is another step but you can’t point to one time where my speed or quickness has prevented me from making a play, or getting to a puck, or winning a battle in the American League all year.”

I could probably point to a couple of times in those rookie games where his lack of speed and quickness prevented him from making a play. And that game was full of junior players and minor leaguers…

Lots of talk, but not a lot of walk to date.

The sentiment I got was that he thinks he knows better than the scouts and coaching staff. I don’t care how good his hands are or if he can see the play five steps ahead of his opponents, his lack of explosiveness and quickness is what will keep him on the outside looking in.

Cameron Hebig has outplayed Marody (and a few others) so far and it’s not even close. Maybe another year in the minors will help adjust Cooper’s attitude a little there.

2. Lavoie and Rodrigue Cut Early

Don’t read into these young men getting sent back to Junior early. Every team is doing it and it’s for the best. They had a very low chance of making the club and they’re better off joining their QMJHL teams as they head into the preseason.

Lavoie showed glimpses of what made him a highly-regarded player going into the 2019 NHL entry draft, but he also showed his age and inexperience. Personally, I think he’s looking forward to at least one or two seasons in the AHL after completing his Junior career.

Rodrigue had an outstanding rookie game versus the Flames (sans the early goal he let in) but his team in Moncton requires his services more than the Oilers. I’ll be interested to see how he does this year as he’s one of the front-runner’s for Team Canada’s starting goalie at the World Juniors in the Czech Republic this year.

3. Speed Kills

From all accounts, the speed and quickness of European signings Joakim Nygard and Gaetan Haas is standing out. Check out the scrimmage highlights above and you’ll notice at the beginning a goal where fellow SHL-signing Joel Persson tries to seal Nygard along the boards, but the speedy Swede slips by and subsequently sets up Cameron Hebig for a goal while Haas takes the defender with him to the net. A lovely play!

One of the things I’ve been wondering since more information has been released regarding these Euro signings is if there’s a possibility we might see them in the top-6 in Edmonton at some point. Haas has the size, the speed/quickness, the hands, he shoots right… Then there’s Nygard who is a grittier version of Carl Hagelin.

All I know is that youngsters like Tyler Benson and Cooper Marody are competing with Haas and Nygard for a spot on this roster. To me, the kids are losing the battle… So far.

4. Evan Bouchard vs. Everyone?

Are we really looking at the Oilers possibly starting the season with a 20-year-old on their blueline? Evan Bouchard has been fantastic so far and it’s really hard to ignore that. Four points in a scrimmage is a lot for a forward let alone a defender.

It sounds like Joel Persson is still adjusting to the ice in North America. He’s getting tons of reps to get him acclimated quickly and I’m not sure if that’s a good sign or a bad one. Even if he does need a bit of time in Bakersfield, the Oilers have the players to cover for him.

From McCurdy’s recounting of the scrimmage, it sounds like Caleb Jones, Ethan Bear, and William Lagesson still need to pick it up a notch.

Could all four be sent to the AHL and Bouchard start the year in Edmonton? I’m very leery of that tactic and it doesn’t sound like one Oilers GM Ken Holland would use. That said, he did use 20-year-old Dennis Cholowski for 52 games last season.

I say, send him to Bakersfield regardless. I don’t imagine these performances will continue against NHL competition and he’s got some work to do on his defensive game. Coach Tippett said that he’s still got some “Junior habits” in his game that need working out. He mentioned that Bouchard and Dmitri Samorukov played so much in Junior that they rested on the ice at times and in the NHL you can’t do that.

It’d be fairer to guys like Ethan Bear, Caleb Jones, or William Lagesson to keep them up instead. We’ve also got fan-favorite Brandon Manning sitting there and who knows what Holland or Dave Tippett has in store for him.

An Alternate Jersey Prototype Leaked?

Do you remember that CCM commercial with Brent Burns and Connor McDavid not too long ago where they were having a shooting competition and they’d give each other cheeky prizes to whoever won? Well, I think I might’ve found something very interesting in the video and I’m surprised nobody else did or maybe they did find it but I didn’t read anything on it.

Look at the uniform that the teddy bear is wearing. I don’t have any confirmation on this, it’s just a hunch on my part, but I believe that could’ve been an alternate jersey the Oilers were looking at using as the colors and the scheme match up with the orange ones they use today. It also matches that of the uniform their AHL affiliate uses.

My feeling is that there’s a strong possibility that we’ll see the uniform that Brent Burns’ teddy bear is wearing at some point in the future. I mean, that’s the jersey they should’ve come out with this year if not a throwback uniform like other teams in the Pacific division are using.

Or maybe this observation is nothing at all and that’s a fakey up there or this is old news…

Just before I go, Jesse Puljujarvi scored a goal and an assist in his second SM-Liiga match of the year. He’s got 12 shots on goal in those two games and is averaging over 15 minutes per game of ice time.

Between the Finnish league and the Champions Hockey League, he’s got 3 goals and 3 assists and 35 shots on goal. A point-per-game player in Europe is the least we could ask for and he’s delivering! Go Yessa Go!

What do you think about Oilers training camp so far? Let us know in the comments below!

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Edmonton Oilers Game Grades: Marody’s Gaff Gifts Flames Rookies the Win in Red Deer

The Edmonton Oilers rookies lost 1-0 in overtime to the Calgary Flames rookies in Red Deer last night and I’m having a tough time describing the overall vibe of the game. On one hand, it had its moments (mostly for the Flames albeit), but on the other hand, how is a 0-0 game ever entertaining?

We’ve been hearing the hype for weeks regarding Tyler Benson and Cooper Marody and in all honesty, they were both non-factors. Any sliver of offense they created was quickly nullified by Calgary’s aggressive forecheck and/or no-name defense. I’m sure it’d be easy to say that this is just game one so we should lay off of them, but with these two especially, I can’t do it. This is exactly the sort of game where they should’ve stood out for the good things in their games instead of the poor ones. Dillion Dube and Matthew Philips had no problems for the Flames, so what was holding Benson and Marody back? They’d better have an improved performance in game two of this series (and the rest of training camp) or else I’m afraid there’s no way that a veteran will let them take his job.

As it is, I do not believe anybody who played in this game for the Oilers is ready for NHL duty as it is and they’d all be better off going back to junior or the AHL to dominate and continue their developmental plan. Who would it hurt anyhow? Nobody. Just give these guys a run out at main camp, cut them early, thank them for their time, and wish them luck this season. We’ll see ya when we see ya!

Who I Saw Good:

  • Ryan McLeod
  • Evan Bouchard
  • Dylan Wells
  • Ostap Safin

Who I Saw Bad:

  • Cooper Marody
  • Vincent Desharnais
  • Nolan Vesey

The Game Grades

Tyler Benson – 5 – Benson had flashes of brilliance when he was given the time and space but he didn’t do a lot with it. I expected more production from him and his line and came away quite disappointed. I don’t care how local you are, how well you play on the boards or how good you look on the PP in a rookie game, if skating is one of your weaknesses, you won’t be playing in the NHL very much. I will say that I was happy to see him get mucky behind the Oilers net after the whistle though. Respect!

Cameron Hebig – 4 – I remember Hebig playing a very skilled role for the Condors last season but against the Flames rookies he was a much grittier version of himself. Had a decent chance where two Flames tried to line him up in the slot for a big hit and they ended up hitting each other instead.

Cooper Marody – 3 – So many giveaways… The two in OT were atrocious. AHL-caliber stuff… He reminds me of a poorer skating Ryan Spooner sometimes. He took a tough hit at the Flames bench that might’ve knocked something loose but he was poor before that, so we can’t use that as an excuse. It simply was not his night at all.

Kirill Maksimov – 5 – Early on he was noticeable. Playing physical and creating space. He was a mainstay on the Oilers PK. I would’ve liked to have seen him one-time that shot on the 2v1 with McLeod though. Been hearing all about this shot of his and he didn’t use it. Took a poor penalty late in the third that caught some criticism from the Oilers play-by-play team. Faded as the game wore on.

Ryan McLeod – 7 – Very good last night. His speed and excellent stick were on full display. He was passing very well too. In my eyes, he’s head and shoulders above Marody on the Oilers depth chart. He got a LONG look last year at training camp, I wouldn’t be surprised if he got another one this year. Should’ve started OT instead of Marody. All that ice and with his speed… C’mon Woodcroft!

Nolan Vesey – 3 – Was very much a Milan Lucic clone on the night. Every time he got the puck, the play died. He could be bound for Wichita. Especially if Jakob Stukel has a good camp.

Steven Iacobellis – 5 – Average game. I didn’t really notice him that much. His linemates on the other hand…

Ostap Safin – 7 – I wasn’t expecting a lot out of Safin to be honest but he stood out. For portions of the game, the puck really followed him around a bit. He used his size and soft hands to his advantage. I hope to see more.

Raphael Lavoie – 6 – Lavoie had a few really good chances but like some of his teammates, couldn’t capitalize. I seen him get outmuscled a couple of times in the corner. He’s going to be a handful once he grows into his body. I’m betting he wrecks the QMJHL this year.

Jakub Stukel – 4 – I like Stukel’s tenacity. He was noticeable early in the game for his forechecking but disappeared completely after the first. This is a player I think if the Oilers stuck with that could develop into a formidable 4th line checker. He really works his ass off when given the chance.

Beau Starrett – 5 – I was taken aback by Starrett. Honestly, when I saw that the Oilers had signed him I thought that he was going to be another Nolan Vesey. Starrett has an excellent frame, he goes to the dirty areas and uses his body pretty effectively. Has a decent shot too. Too bad he got jumped by Onyebuchi, I would’ve liked to have seen him throw down too.

Liam Keeler – 3 – Didn’t notice him one bit.

Evan Bouchard – 7 – Great game. Those hands! Wow! He’s so composed out there and never gets rattled. His shots get through to the net more often than not eh? The Oilers forwards were having trouble penetrating the Flames zone at one point in the 3rd, so Bouchard took it himself. Some will say his skating needs work but I am not one of those. I could see a significant improvement in his skating. It was much smoother and his edgework was way better than last year. Something I can’t say about Benson and Marody.

Dmitri Samorukov – 6 – He was okay for me. A tough couple of periods before settling down in the third. What worried me most was that he went for a couple of BIG hits and got caught leaving his partner to defend some odd-man rushes. He’ll have to iron that out of his game for sure. Dima had a really nice rush with the puck at one point.

Logan Day – 4 – Not sure if he was shaking off the rust or what, but we only got to see him thrive a few times. Normally he’s a very good playmaker who is cool under pressure, but not last night. Had a bit of a tough one offensively.

Ethan Cap – 3 – No idea. Never stood out for me.

Vincent Desharnais – 3 – Calgary’s smaller forwards took advantage of Desharnais’ hulking frame and drew a couple of penalties on him. He looked slow.

Brendan de Jong – 3 – refer to Desharnais.

Dylan Wells – 8 – Might’ve been player of the game for me. I know last week I said that I was expecting much from Wells this year, but he had a really good game and if he keeps that up he’ll win the backup’s job in Bakersfield easily.

Stuart Skinner – 6 – After coming in at the half0way mark, Skinner played solid enough. Nothing noteworthy though. Probably could’ve played that 2v1 in OT a bit better.

It’s undecided at this point in time, but perhaps we see Kailer Yamamoto, Jason Bellamy, and Olivier Rodrigue draw in for the next game.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!

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Edmonton Oilers: 2019 Hlinka/Gretzky Group A Preview + Thoughts on the Oilers Defense Past 2019

The Hlinka Gretzky Cup is set to kick off on August 5th and run until the 10th in Breclav, Czech Republic and Piestany, Slovakia. For those of you that are new to the competition, it’s basically the world’s best under-18 players going head-to-head. Canada has won 22 of the last 28 contests and are looking to repeat as champions after winning last year’s edition of the tournament that was played in Edmonton and Red Deer.

Today’s Group A preview comes to us from the mind of Max L. (@TPEHockey)

Canada:
The Canadians are an early favorite to run away with this tournament due to their combination of high-end talent and depth. They occupied 5/10 of the top 10 scorers at the U17s last year. The team will be without 2020’s top prospect in Alexis Lafreniére due to him being a late 2001 born player rather than 2002. Nonetheless, the team has plenty of high-end talent, and anything less than a gold medal is a failure for this squad.

In net, the Canadians have various options. The go-to guy will likely be Dylan Garand of the Kamloops Blazers who has a strong 16-year-old season with the team. They also have Tristan Lennox who is a late birthday eligible for the 2021 draft. Their defense is where it gets crazy. Canada has 4 or 5 first-round talents on their blueline including Jamie Drysdale, Jeremie Poirier, Kaiden Guhle, and Lukas Cormier. With the prominence of their blue line, Canada doesn’t lack forwards either. The consensus #2 guy for the 2020 draft, Quinton Byfield, will play for the team. The 6’5” monster dominates with his ridiculous skating ability and high-end skill set. Other potential 1st rounders include Cole Perfetti, Connor McClennon, Hendrix Lapierre, Jack Neighbors, and Theo Rochette.

Finland:
The Finns have been a dominant force in hockey as of late, but this year may be a little different. Their 2002 born and 2020 draft class lacks a ton of talent, but there is hope. They’ll be without consensus top 5 prospect Anton Lundell due to him being a late 01 which is a huge hit to their roster. Finland has a chance at competing for a medal, but they’ll likely be steamrolled by a team like Canada. Although they could be a very exciting team.

The team features a few stars that will come up in later drafts that everyone should have an eye on. Underaged Brad Lambert will likely make this team and he is nothing short of phenomenal. He is one of the best upcoming Finnish players we’ve ever seen, but not eligible until 2022. Lambert has far exceeded the benchmark put up by a player like Kaapo Kakko at the same age. Aatu Räty is also a top player as he’s the #1 prospect for the 2021 draft. Other players to look out for are Veeti Miettinen, Valterri Karnaranta, Roni Hirvonen, and Kasper Puutio.

Czech Republic:
Czech hockey has seemed to be getting weaker as of late and the trend may continue. There isn’t much to be expected from this team, but there are a few good players.

In net Jan Bednar and Jakub Malek will compete for the starting job. Both are top prospects for 2020. On defense, we can expect to see Stanislav Svozil who is a 1st round prospect for the 2021 draft. The only real forward of note is Jan Mysak. Mysak could compete for a top 10 root in the 2020 draft after his time in the Czech pros as a 16-year-old. He had a remarkable playoff run with HC Litvinov where he scored 5 goals and 4 assists in 6 professional hockey games at 16.

Switzerland:
The Swiss team this year won’t be fun to watch. With only one real prospect they don’t stand a chance. They lost dual citizen Theo Rochette to Canada, a huge hit to the program. Their only guy to watch is Noah Delemont who served as an assistant captain for Switzerland at the U18s.

The Group B preview written by Keith Fries (@keithfries) will be posted tomorrow as well as a little rumor on the Oilers search for their third-line center.

The Oilers Defence Past 2019/20

Earlier this week I tweeted out a video of Darnell Nurse fluffing a 10ft pass and it caused a bit of an uproar amongst some of his biggest fans. My point was, and has been for some time, that even though he’s a tough son of a bitch and he can skate like the wind (when there’s an open lane), his decision making, IQ, and passing isn’t up to snuff for a player who is looking at Jacob Trouba’s new $8M per year deal as his own deal is expiring after this season.

Personally, I think his numbers are propped up by playing most of his career TOI with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. At least over the previous three seasons, it looks that way,

  • Connor McDavid – 1583:55 min
  • Leon Draisaitl – 1517:54 min
  • Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – 1275:37

Who are the three guys who stand at the blueline during warm-ups each game again?

And don’t ask me why Todd McLellan, for the most part, and Ken Hitchcock, to a lesser degree, decided to do this. It’s obvious that Nurse was a drag on the team’s best forwards. Here are his possession metrics in all strengths With/Without/Player without Nurse during the same three seasons,

  • McDavid: 53.09%/44.25%/58.18%
  • Draisaitl: 52.09%/44.87%/57.85%
  • Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: 48.31%/47.13%/52.50%

Stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.

For a game where the defensemen are evolving every year, it’s just not a good look on a defender who can’t move the puck without having to take it himself, to have such poor metrics. And Look, Nurse isn’t the only one, he just happens to be the one that might be asking for the moon in his next deal. Sam Girard (COL) just signed a 7-yr deal with $5M per year and I think they compare quite well and think that’s the ideal AAV for Nurse to sign that would help not only the team going forward but possibly himself should he make it for 5 years and walk himself into free agency.

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So, when people tell me that you can’t move him because he was the team’s highest-scoring defender last year and he’s only 24 or that he’s the Oilers best blueliner, I think you have to look into those 40+ points he got last year and realize that approximately 25% of them came on the PP, which isn’t a bad thing but he probably wouldn’t have gotten them had Klefbom (or Sekera) stayed healthy. Also, his secondary points (19) nearly match his primary (22) and his SH% almost doubled from the season prior (3.09% to 5.10%).

Getting back to the powerplay for a moment, do you think that Nurse will be playing a lot of minutes with the man advantage with Joel Persson and Caleb Jones most likely making the team next season? And what about that when Evan Bouchard is on the team?

My argument isn’t that Nurse is a bad player even though I’m presenting some pretty damning evidence that doesn’t really speak to the pluses of his game. I’m saying he’s not worth what Trouba makes right now and he’s never been an offensive defender.

I want Darnell Nurse to be the next Chris Pronger, but as weird as it sounds, he’s not as mean as Pronger was. He looks it when it’s time to throw down, but Pronger was as dirty as he was mean. Could Darnell be like that? Absolutely and I’d love to see it.

What I truly desire for Nurse is for him to embrace the shutdown role. Really dig in on being amazing defensively for this team so that they can pair him with a righty who needs a clean-up man in order to be the best player he can be for the Oilers. But in order to do that, he can be doing things like this,

If you think that the Oilers would have a gaping hole in the toughness department without Darnell, you need to watch a bit more of William Lagesson. This guy is as tough as nails plus he can skate and pass the puck and I think if I’m being honest, his progression is part of the reason I think I feel comfortable with the idea of moving Nurse.

Tying all of that in with the title of this portion of the post, IF Anton Thun decides he’s going to be brave with Holland like he was with Chiarelli, I don’t think it’s going to end up well. In addition to that, we’ve heard from pundits covering the team that this group of defensemen could be getting a facelift. Now whether that comes internally or externally, my belief is that the Oilers are looking for better puck-movers and more offense from the blueline.

After this season, I would project the defense to look something like this if Nurse re-signs,

Oscar Klefbom/Adam Larsson
Darnell Nurse/Evan Bouchard
William Lagesson/Caleb Jones

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I do believe that this year will be the last time we see Kris Russell and Matt Benning in Oilers gear. Joel Persson is also a question mark past this upcoming campaign, so I didn’t include him.

If Nurse doesn’t re-sign and is moved, I think the defense would look like this,

Klefbom/Larsson
Lagesson/Bouchard
Jones/Bear

I know. It looks awfully green and it is, at the NHL level, but Lagesson, Jones, and Bear will have had multiple seasons of experience in the AHL and most likely games in the NHL too. Bouchard would have one full year (probably) and if Tyler Benson can get the push after one year, why not Old Man Bouchard? Can’t forget how Bouchard was the team’s best passer as a 19-year-old in his stint last year.

That group of defenders CAN move the puck extremely well and I’d be willing to bet that we’d soon forget about the toughness and puck-rushing that Nurse brings today not to mention the return on a trade for him would most likely net Edmonton a pretty good forward…

Let me reiterate this one more time, I don’t want Nurse traded. I want him to sign a team-friendly contract that pays him what he is worth long-term. But in the event that his camp is asking for too much money, I do believe the organization depth would give the Oilers the ability to field offers on the defenseman and allow them to upgrade the roster.

FYI: Almost 14 years to the day, Chris Pronger was traded to the Oilers for Eric Brewer, Jeff Wowitka, and Doug Lynch. The anniversary of that trade is very soon and I asked my followers on Twitter what the equivalent of that deal would look like today if we were using this roster? Would it be Nurse, Lagesson, and Bear for Victor Hedman? Let me know your idea in the comments below!

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Edmonton Oilers: Strudwick and Button Compare Evan Bouchard to Griffin Reinhart

This just in! According to former Oilers defender Jason Strudwick and ex-Flames GM Craig Button, Evan Bouchard can now begin to be compared to failed 4th overall pick Griffin Reinhart… Wow! Just when you think Button couldn’t dig himself into that hole any further, Strudwick hands him a new shovel…

Forgive me, this post is going to be a bit jambled. I had a lot of quotes to use and had quite a bit to say but I’ll be honest, the organization of the post is f*cked… But it is what it is. I just want to get this out to the masses and you fine folks can do with it what you will.

No new trade rumors to report btw. Zuccarello is the reported target at the moment.

On to the ridiculousness!

Jason Strudwick: A guy like Griffin Reinhart. He could do it in junior but once you get to the NHL you have to have some snap. You gotta get there and get there quick. Griffin was never able to raise that. Is that kind of a fair comparison to maybe what a guy that was never able to get that bar up high enough to play at that quick tempo. It doesn’t mean you’re skating fast, it means you’re doing things quickly. 

At first when I’d heard that there were Reinhart/Bouchard comparisons done on Jason Gregor’s show, I didn’t think it would’ve been coming out of Strudwick’s mouth.

Reinhart’s career best point total in junior was 36 points in 2011-12. Bouchard has already had an 87 point campaign and is on pace for 90 points this season… He also has an actual NHL goal to his name, something that the Reinhart boy has yet to achieve, but I digress.

Do you remember back in 2014, there were some rumblings that the Oilers should trade the 3rd overall pick for Griffin Reinhart? Jonathan Willis wrote on it at the time and what I was shocked to find out was that Craig Button was one of the pundits that was also advocating that trade.

Bob Stauffer had two guests on his show bring up the subject recently – TSN scout (and former NHL G.M.) Craig Button and the Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson. Terry Jones wrote about the possibility in the Edmonton Sun, and David Staples riffed on that in a follow-up piece on the Journal’s website.

The Oilers did eventually trade for Reinhart but if I had to choose between this proposed deal and the one that actually happened, I’ll take losing out on Barzal, Chabot, Boeser, etc. instead of Leon Draisaitl anyday.

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Craig Button: Jason, it’s a perfect, perfect description and it’s a really good example about Griffin. Griffin was a smart player, and I love the term “snap”. You use a great phrase and one that I totally agree with, “getting there quickly”. Getting there quickly with the best opportunity to make the best play, not to make a survival play, not to make a play, “Oh boy! Now I’m stuck, I’m gonna fire it off the glass”,,, It’s about giving yourself the opportunity to make the best play. Like I said, the NHL is fast. It’s fast offensively, it’s fast defensively. It demands you not only play fast but you gotta think fast. It’s developmental, he (Bouchard) doesn’t have an inherant weakness in his hockey sense or an inherant weakness in his skating. He’s just got to play faster and get his pace up. That’s true of 99% of young players trying to enter the league. It’s not unique to Evan, it holds true to 99% of the players trying to get into the league

Griffin Reinhart couldn’t survive at the NHL level because he couldn’t skate at that level! He was being compared to Colton Teubert for crying out loud! As a result of his poor skating, of course his pace and tempo were affected. I mean who uses Griffin Reinhart as a comparable to Evan Bouchard?

I asked a veteran OHL scout about what Button’s comments and he had this to say,

Button is a f*cking moron. I honestly ignore everything he says. Bouchard plays with great pace and tempo. He also slows things down and can play a patient game. Defensive intensity is an issue. Just kinda floats defensively but transition game and offensive game are elite. 

You can see he’s trying a bit harder defensively. Certainly whacking guys more, trying to pin guys up against the wall more. He needs to hit the gym to get bigger and stronger that will help him too. AHL is perfect for that.

His first step is a bit slow but once we gets going he’s fine. Part of it is reads too. When he gets the puck he’s immediately looking to make a pass with head up. I dunno, Button is f*cked.

Bottom line is, you can’t teach some of the sh*t he does with the puck offensively. That shot is so hard and accurate and he is a good skater despite what people think especially in transition game. IQ is very high, poise is there. He has a lot of tools just needs to continue to get stronger and work and efensive game. But what defensive prospect at age 19 doesn’t?

I really want to know how Button came to the conclusions about this list of 50 best-affiliated players and it was addressed in the show as well.

The list of the 50 best nhl affiliated players is about who today factors into that category of best players who are affiliated with their team. It’s not about potential, there’s another hundred players who have lots of potential, Evan Bouchard included amongst them.

You look at a player and you look at what players have to do, I like Evan Bouchard, I think he’s got lots of capability but I know one thing that’s essential to success at the National Hockey League level, and that’s a pace and tempo that Evan Bouchard has to improve. It has to be much better.

You evaluate over a period of time. This isn’t a static operation for me, it’s not an evaluation that I just look at him once. I’m looking at it over time and Evan’s a really good prospect but when I look at it and I do it, it’s not about points.

It’s about, okay, I’ve just watched him in a best-on-best tournament, I just watched him against his peer group as a 19-year-old defenseman and you factor that in. You factor in to what I’ve seen this year in London and so those all go in hand-in-hand in terms of the evaluation.

Ah… I think I’ve found the issue here. Button is upset about Bouchard’s performance at the World Juniors. It has to be. He’s based in Calgary for the most part and so I have to question how often he gets out to London Knights games.

I didn’t think Evan had a good tournament either but that didn’t force me to come to the conclusion that Gabe Vilardi, a player who hasn’t played a full season of hockey for 3 years now, is a better player for the Kings than Bouchard is for the Oilers.

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This isn’t about him not being a good NHL prospect…. Connor Timmins, last year as a 19-year-old defenseman, had the same exact developmental issues as Evan Bouchard and at the World Junior tournament, and I don’t just put this at the World Junior Touranment, but make no mistake about it; it’s a significant tournament when we’re talking about the best players outside the NHL and Connor Timmins excelled, Evan Bouchard fell far short of excelling at that tournament and I still think he’s got great, awesome potential but he needs work on his pace and tempo because if it doesn’t improve, he’s going to have a tough time playing in the National Hockey League. 

So Button goes on about Timmins here and how he had a good tourney and how Bouchard didn’t but Eeli Tolvanen was invisible for Finland for most of the tournament. Filip Zadina had 1 point the whole time!

But maybe we should use defensemen as a better comparable.

  • Quinn Hughes (USA) – 2 assists – ranked 8th
  • Evan Bouchard (CAN) – 3 assists – unranked
  • Noah Dobson (CAN) – 1 assist – ranked 18th

The person ranked 19th is Alexander Romanov. He has ZERO points for his KHL club but at least he lead the scoring at the world juniors for dmen.

I mean is Alexander Alexeyev really a better prospect for his club today than Bouchard is for Edmonton? C’mon Craig! Get your head out of your ass.

This is a report from Button that came out a few months before the draft in 2018 and he had some pretty glowing things to say about Evan Bouchard and had him ranked as high as 5th in the draft.

Funny, nothing about his lack of pace or tempo though…

Sometimes it takes me a little bit longer to get my senses about myself and my wits. I’ve watched Evan Bouchard for four years. The OHL Cup has been going on this weekend, I saw him first in midget. Three years in London, over 50 times in all different kinds of games, playoffs, events. I can only tell you this, after a while you just go, “Wait a second, he’s this good.” He’s not sexy. There’s not end-to-end rushes and flashes of brilliance but what there is is this great intelligence, this great ability to impact the game, great with the puck, and he reminds me of Hall-of-Famer Larry Murphy. I’m not saying he’s Larry Murphy but that’s the kind of game he plays. We’re talking about a guy that had 87 points, lead his team in scoring as a defenseman. – Craig Button (3/20/2018)

Has anybody considered that perhaps the reason that Bouchard appears to play slower is that he’s trained himself to do that due to playing so many minutes for London the last couple of seasons?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OqPvFQRX1s

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Edmonton Oilers News: Evan Bouchard Going Back To London This Weekend?

After last night’s beauty win over the Chicago Blackhawks, there was a bit of buzz on Twitter regarding the Oilers’ prized blue-chip prospect Evan Bouchard and where he’d be spending the rest of the season.

As a junior-aged player, the Oilers have the option of sending Bouchard back to the OHL after nine games if they feel he’s not ready for the rigors of the NHL. However, seven games into his stint, the six-foot-three, 194-pound defenceman is fitting in well and seems likely to stick for the year.– Derek Van Diest (source)

Or not…

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So Van Diest is the only member of the media I’ve heard who’s saying anything remotely close to the notion that Bouchard would be staying with Edmonton this year. Otherwise, every other person who covers the team from Bob Stauffer to Jason Gregor to Ryan Rishaug to the gentlemen in the tweets above, have said he’s going back.

Seriously, Stauffer has been talking about it all week.

Now here’s the thing that has me leaning towards Bouchard being sent back.

Who do the Oilers play next? The Detroit Red Wings.

How convenient would it be for the Oilers to play Bouchard in his 8th game versus a struggling Detroit Red Wings and then send him back to London or better yet, send him back this morning so that he can join the Knights for their game vs. Flint tonight.

A brief 5-hour flight direct and he’s back in London, ready to go for Dale Hunter’s crew.

I mean it doesn’t really matter that much when he goes back as the Knights have three games in three nights here this weekend against Flint, Owen Sound, and Kitchener.

Evan Bouchard has one goal in seven games this year and is dash five with two minutes in penalties. He’s been sheltered immensely as well and He’s not making the sort of impact that other 19-year-old defenders like Miro Heiskanen (DAL) or Henri Jokiharju (CHI) are making with their clubs thus making it a near certainty that he will be sent back to the OHL.

**UPDATE**

https://twitter.com/SportsnetSpec/status/1058363709804896257

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When Bouchard gets sent back, how will that affect the Oilers defense?

I don’t think it’ll affect it that much, to be honest.

The Oilers are more or less covered bottom-pairing-wise with Matt Benning, Jason Garrison, and one of Kevin Gravel, Ethan Bear, or whatever other AHL defender you’d like to choose and then at some point I imagine Andrej Sekera will re-join the group.

All of us Oilers fans have really enjoyed Bouchard’s calming demeanor, Al MacInnis-like slapshot, and slick passing so far this season but there are far too many risks involved in keeping him. Especially in a season where jobs are on the line, this is an Oilers team that can’t really afford to be developing a defenseman at the NHL level and that’s okay too because he’ll be back next season and the Oilers options with him will include the AHL due to him playing in his 4th major junior season.

This is the right move for Bouchard and the Oilers. Bring along this young man slowly and gently and reap the benefits down the road else feel the ire of the fanbase and the critique of the media if he’s rushed in the same manner Jesse Puljujarvi has been.

As I always say though when it comes to roster moves. Things can change at the drop of a hat so don’t bet your kids’ college funds on what you read on the internet 🙂

Thoughts? What do you think about this impending move with Bouchard? Would you send him back or keep him past the 9-game mark and burn a year of his ELC off?

Let us know in the comments below!

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