Bouchard knocking on Oilers’ door
Evan Bouchard looks noticeably leaner than he has before, but then he’s hungry for some regular NHL employment, so counting calories is as important as counting D-men on the Edmonton Oilers depth chart.
And while he will make the team based on how he plays more than how he looks, it’s still a part of the Bouchard book, apart from his innate ability to get shots through with a short backswing.
“Not only do I see that, but I know it for a fact with some of the testing we did,” said Oilers coach Dave Tippett, who got the camp results. “He’s come back in great shape.
“He’s played most of the year in Sweden.”
Bouchard, who was on loan to Sodertalje, just outside Stockholm, is knocking on the NHL door. While Oilers have seven defencemen on one-way contracts — Darnell Nurse, Ethan Bear, Tyson Barrie, Adam Larsson, Caleb Jones, Kris Russell and Slater Koekkoek — and Bouchard has a two-way, he’s very close to cracking the top-seven, which would mean a spot on the 23-man roster. Even if he doesn’t start the season on the 23 and goes on the six-man taxi-squad, he might not sit for long.
When Bouchard went to Europe, it was as an adventure. One that was a whole lot better than working out in the gym for months.
“Little bit of both. I got some feedback from lots of people and there’s no way you can replicate playing. It was a no-brainer,” he said.
Bouchard looks better now than he did at the return to play camp in July, where Philip Broberg got a chance to dress against Calgary in a tune-up game.
“The back-end being crowded is a very good thing, we’ll need lots of players. Bouchard, (William) Lagesson, Koekkoek, they’re playing well. Even though somebody might not be in the starting lineup, depth is critical,” said Tippett. “More than anything with Evan is he’s maturing as a person and a player. You saw that with Ethan Bear last year, you’re seeing it with Caleb Jones this year. He’s got lots of talent, and desire. You have to let them go through the process of being a good player before you call them a good player.”
Going to play in Sodertalje for their GM and former NHL winger Mikael Samuelsson was a boon for Bouchard. Samuelsson knows both sides of the hockey coin.
“I learned a lot from him, about work ethic and everything,” Bouchard said. “He doesn’t like to lose, and that really stuck with me. Playing for someone like that really helped me. To get that mindset, to believe in me.”
“The NHL rinks are more about battling physical play in the corners and in front of the net. But in Europe, you can still work on gaps and closing on players and if you can do that on the bigger ice, that should help on the smaller one.”
Part of Bouchard’s introduction to sport in Europe was also learning how to play paddle tennis, a game Samuelsson, the ex-detroit forward, loves. It’s played on an enclosed court, 25 per cent smaller than a regular tennis court, with walls balls can be banked off of, like squash. It uses solid, stringless bats and the same size balls as tennis, but served at the waist or below. Samuelsson is a fierce competitor.
“I had no idea about it,” said Bouchard, “but it’s a great way to stay in shape.”