Team takes long look at D-man Bouchard
Youngster’s offensive skill-set draws positive reviews from his new coach
The fact Evan Bouchard is still in Edmonton while his junior team has already started the season tells you coach Todd McLellan and GM Peter Chiarelli are taking his bid to make the Edmonton Oilers very seriously.
The team is down to nine defenceman and the 18-year-old 10th overall draft pick is still very much in the mix.
“We have two junior eligible players here (forward Ryan McLeod is the other) and it’s getting later in camp,” said McLellan. “Their teams are starting, so if we didn’t think these kids had a chance to play here, we would have got them back with their own clubs and ready to go.
“They’ve pushed enough to deserve to still be here. Can they close the deal and remain here is the question that still has to be answered.”
With Adam Larsson, Oscar Klefbom, Darnell Nurse, Matt Benning and Kris Russell locking down spots, the sixth, seventh and possibly eighth (depending on the opening night configuration) spots are open for two or three of Bouchard, Ethan Bear, Jakub Jerabek and Jason Garrison.
So far, Bouchard has shown the Oilers just what they expected of him when they found him giftwrapped at No. 10 last summer. He skates and moves the puck well, he sees the ice like a pro and plays with a great deal of poise for such a young player.
“With the puck, he’s exceptional,” said Nurse. “He has so much confidence, he’s so calm. He sees plays and he makes them. For a kid who just drafted into the league he has so much poise and confidence with the puck. He’s fun to play with.”
While he doesn’t look at all out of place when the puck is on his stick, Bouchard, like all young defencemen, has some growing to do in his own end of the ice.
Nurse remembers D zone coverage being the biggest challenge on his way to becoming a full time NHLer. It’s something that takes years to master.
“The defending part is hard,” said Nurse. “You can get away with a lot in junior when you’re big and you can move well and you have good hockey sense. But up here you’re playing against guys who all have that same package.
“You learn as you play, really. You’re never going to be perfect right off the bat,’’ said Nurse. “You learn guys’ tendencies and what you can and can’t get away with. He’s picking up things very quick, though, and he’s definitely going to be a big part of this team at some point.”
If you ask any coach, the defensive aspect is the determining factor in whether a young blue liner makes the team or not. If the coach doesn’t have the confidence to put a player out there, he won’t.
So pay more attention to what Bouchard and Bear are doing when the other team is running a cycle in Edmonton’s end because that will likely determine their fates.
“They both have offensive instincts, they’ve been groomed that way,” said McLellan. “That’s what their forte is. It’s the defensive side, it’s the pace, and what are we leaving on the table when we’re not in the offensive zone.
“As the lineups we play against become more competitive and more skilled, the evaluation opportunity increases. We’ll continue to watch those two,’’ said McLellan.
“On some nights they’re really good and other nights there are some (iffy) moments, but veterans players have that as well.”
If the Oilers go with seven defencemen out of camp, it would represent somewhat of a risk if two of them are Bear and Bouchard. If a veteran gets injured it would leave them with two very raw kids on the blue line, which probably wouldn’t bode well against some of the powerhouse teams in the West.
“Are they both here, is one here, are neither here?” said McLellan. “We have about five days to figure that out.”
With Bouchard, it comes back to the age old question: is he best served in junior if he isn’t in the top six in Edmonton? Is a full season in the OHL better than being the seventh man and sitting in the press box, or is learning by osmosis on an NHL team more beneficial than dominating teenagers in London?
“Realistically, we’re not a development league, we’re a win league,” said McLellan.
“You can never err with overdevelopment. Yet, players knock on the door earlier than they ever have. It’s become a very young league and young players have the courage to play. There is room for young players on a team.”