BOUCHARD PLAYING IN THE FAST LANE
It was a few days ago when the phone rang and Evan Bouchard was told Connor McDavid was on the line.
Considering the state of disrepair on the Edmonton Oilers’ defensive corps at the time — Oscar Klefbom and Kris Russell had just joined Andrej Sekera on the injured list — Bouchard might have been forgiven for letting his mind wander.
After all, it was only two months ago at the start of the NHL season that he was patrolling the blue line for the Oilers, before being returned to junior.
Could McDavid be calling to inform Bouchard that he was coming back to The Show?
Not exactly. Turns out, the Oilers’ captain just wanted to wish him and Team Canada good luck heading into the world junior hockey championship.
In other words, Bouchard isn’t going anywhere just yet. And he’s fine with that. Though the 19-year-old turned some heads earlier this season when he made the Oilers out of training camp and became the youngest defenceman in franchise history to score a goal, the best place for him right now is in junior.
At the same time, he knows he’s just a phone call away from realizing his dreams.
“I don’t think it’s too far away,” said Bouchard. “Getting games this year was important for me and good for me to see how it is. I don’t think that jump’s too far, but there’s definitely work to be done. They made it clear to me that there’s still stuff to work on. I agree with them.
“There’s a lot to work on, and that’s what I’m trying to do. My main focus right now is competing at the world juniors and focusing on what the coaching staff is talking about here.”
Despite the organizational need, the Oilers have to be patient with Bouchard, taken 10th overall in this year’s draft. Unlike past drafts, where they swung and missed on high picks such as Nail Yakupov and don’t yet know what they have in Jesse Puljujarvi or Kailer Yamamoto, this one has to work out simply because of the position he plays.
Bouchard is only the second defencemen — Darnell Nurse being the other — the Oilers have taken in the first round in the past 12 years. That doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for error. Even when Klefbom and Russell are healthy, there’s a lack of depth on the Oilers’ back end.
The good news is the 6-foot-3 Bouchard, who is on Canada’s top pairing and should get a chance to go on a long playoff run with the London Knights later in the year, is looking like the real deal.
“He’s a leader back there,” said Team Canada head coach Tim Hunter. “He sees the play and has that patience threshold with the puck to make the play and find the pass that not a lot of defencemen can. We just like him to skate a little bit more and be a little bit more aggressive with his speed and closing the gap and checking and things like that. It comes with learning and how we want to play.”
Big, fast and mobile with a cannon for a shot, Bouchard led all defencemen in the Ontario Hockey League with 87 points in 67 games last season. It’s his NHL-size frame coupled with an offensive bent that landed him a spot on the Oilers roster. The reason he failed to stick had more to do with the pace of the game than anything else.
He’s still learning how to pick his spots offensively. It’s a comfort thing. If you’re thinking about when it’s safe to join the rush, chances are the moment has already passed. As such, Bouchard looked at times as though he was half a step behind as he calculated the risks in where to be on the ice.
“Obviously, the speed is something really different in the NHL,” said Bouchard. “You have to really know what you’re going to do with the puck before you have it. I’m working on that back in London.”
It’s much easier to work on that in junior, where he’s getting 20-plus minutes a game, versus in the NHL, where Bouchard’s ice time was cut to 8:37 in a game against the Penguins. Since rejoining the Knights, he has five goals and 18 points in 13 games and leads Canada’s defence with three assists and a plus-5 rating in the first two games.
“He’s playing faster than I’ve seen him play,” said Hunter. “And we talked to him in the summer and at the selection camp about playing fast. He can still play a little faster, not unlike anyone else.”
If he keeps it up, he’ll be in the NHL soon enough.
“The coaching staff up there and management know what they’re doing,” he said. “If they think the best decision for myself and the team was to send me back, then I totally respect their decision and agree with it. I just want to see the Edmonton Oilers do well.
“All the best to them and I’m sure they’ll (Klefbom and Russell) be back soon. But it’s pretty great to see how well they’re doing now even with the injuries.”