Player Discussion Evan Bouchard

[Drivesaitl]

I don't take exception to the notion that Durzi stepped up and played decent considering, but having a hard assignment and going -6 in those two games doesn't make those great games because the it was a hard job. Good for him though on Game 1 and 4 as those were decent efforts.

My bigger exception was the comment that Bouchard can't even hold Durzi's jockstrap.

Fair enough. obviously I'm pissed off with games 1 and 4 and a team thats been indifferent in half the games. But sometimes Bouchard just seems like a poster child for indifference. He Jultzes me sometimes. Sometimes I like him a lot, and other times..

Was just a frustration that the Oilers don't seem to find or acquire these kind of young gems. Durzi is already looking like a future #1 D so his ascent is pretty incredible. that he's doing this without a Doughty around to shoulder 1D is exceptional. Most players would be so overwhelmed the struggle would be all over.

 

[bone]

Fair enough. obviously I'm pissed off with games 1 and 4 and a team thats been indifferent in half the games. But sometimes Bouchard just seems like a poster child for indifference. He Jultzes me sometimes. Sometimes I like him a lot, and other times..

Was just a frustration that the Oilers don't seem to find or acquire these kind of young gems. Durzi is already looking like a future #1 D so his ascent is pretty incredible. that he's doing this without a Doughty around to shoulder 1D is exceptional. Most players would be so overwhelmed the struggle would be all over.

I was pissed about Game 1, last night was disappointing but as I stated in the PGT that I'm not disheartened by it as despite LA playing their very best game and the Oilers basically delivering a stinker, they still needed quite a bit of puck luck to win the game, especially as decidedly as it may appear on the surface.

Makes me confident that the only way Edmonton loses this is by not showing up themselves, so they are still in a strong position.

I agree in general with your comments and those observations are why I'd be concerned about him taking top line minutes in a defensive game. But fortunately Ceci's doing well and here for long enough to give him time to figure it out, or move on from him if he never does.

If you would have pushed it harder to turn his production into a byproduct of his teammates, I was going to point out that McDavid or Draisaitl were only on the ice for one of his points so he's helping drive secondary scoring. I don't think he could do what Durzi's doing, but I also don't think Durzi could do what Bouchard is doing.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I was pissed about Game 1, last night was disappointing but as I stated in the PGT that I'm not disheartened by it as despite LA playing their very best game and the Oilers basically delivering a stinker, they still needed quite a bit of puck luck to win the game, especially as decidedly as it may appear on the surface.

Makes me confident that the only way Edmonton loses this is by not showing up themselves, so they are still in a strong position.

I agree in general with your comments and those observations are why I'd be concerned about him taking top line minutes in a defensive game. But fortunately Ceci's doing well and here for long enough to give him time to figure it out, or move on from him if he never does.

If you would have pushed it harder to turn his production into a byproduct of his teammates, I was going to point out that McDavid or Draisaitl were only on the ice for one of his points so he's helping drive secondary scoring. I don't think he could do what Durzi's doing, but I also don't think Durzi could do what Bouchard is doing.

Thanks for this. You're like the balance to my occasional up and down swings, which I try to work on, heh, but theres nothing like playoffs to elicit emotions. The weather kind of sucks too, Want to do the gardening and the ground is still wet and cold.

Oh well, another Flames loss would be nice tonight.

 

[mcdingdong]

Overall I have loved Bouchard's play but no doubt about it last night was a stinker. On the first LAK goal he was particularly out of sorts. The puck hopped on him which is tough luck, but getting beat back to the net by the eventual goal scorer without even taking a stride was an egregious, lack of effort type error.

 

[Stoneman89]

Overall I have loved Bouchard's play but no doubt about it last night was a stinker. On the first LAK goal he was particularly out of sorts. The puck hopped on him which is tough luck, but getting beat back to the net by the eventual goal scorer without even taking a stride was an egregious, lack of effort type error.

I agree it looked bad, but I think it's still a product of him learning the pro game, and the intensity and attention to detail that's required once you get to this time of year was lacking in that moment. Maybe a year or 2 from now, that never happens. We'll see.

 

[Kaptah2]

Bouchard makes Tyson Barrie look like a defensive specialist. He's the reason we lost tonight.

 

[Trafalgar Sadge Law]

Bouchard makes Tyson Barrie look like a defensive specialist. He's the reason we lost tonight.

And he was huge the previous 2 series and a large reason why we were able to beat LA and Calgary. Young defensemen sometimes f*** up, he's not the first young dman this has happened to and wont be the last.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

And he was huge the previous 2 series and a large reason why we were able to beat LA and Calgary. Young defensemen sometimes f*** up, he's not the first young dman this has happened to and wont be the last.

When Puljujarvi doesnt even take a stride when backchecking.
Kaptah2: He was tired.

When Bouchard at the end of a 30 second shift gets outmuscled/hooked.
Kaptah2: What a loser, only reason we lost.

 

[Gurglesons]

Bouchard f***ing rocks. No idea why people keep saying he isn’t a defenseman.

 

[Kaptah2]

And he was huge the previous 2 series and a large reason why we were able to beat LA and Calgary. Young defensemen sometimes f*** up, he's not the first young dman this has happened to and wont be the last.

Might be. But he was still the reason we lost tonight.

 

[nabob]

I agree it looked bad, but I think it's still a product of him learning the pro game, and the intensity and attention to detail that's required once you get to this time of year was lacking in that moment. Maybe a year or 2 from now, that never happens. We'll see.

Hopefully, but it’s been his reputation since before he was drafted…

 

[Arpeggio]

Bouchard is going to be an absolute stud. This playoff experience is huge for his development, he's going to be a legit top-pairing defenceman for a long time. He'll figure out the defensive end, he's too talented not to.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Bouchard is going to be an absolute stud. This playoff experience is huge for his development, he's going to be a legit top-pairing defenceman for a long time. He'll figure out the defensive end, he's too talented not to.

His talent isnt the issue.

Its his lack of intensity or willing to battle in the defensive zone.

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

Bouchard makes Tyson Barrie look like a defensive specialist. He's the reason we lost tonight.

I sense you would have an entirely different viewpoint if he was Finnish.

For a young D-man with only a single NHL season under his belt he's done everything I think we could of reasonably asked of him.

 

[Arpeggio]

His talent isnt the issue.

Its his lack of intensity or willing to battle in the defensive zone.

He'll figure it out, I think experiences like this bring out the intensity in certain guys, and in my opinion he's been way more emotionally involved since the team started looking like a real contender. We even had him challenging guys to fight, which I never thought we'd see from him to be honest.

He's very young, he'll figure out what he needs to do to be successful in the playoffs.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

He'll figure it out, I think experiences like this bring out the intensity in certain guys, and in my opinion he's been way more emotionally involved since the team started looking like a real contender. We even had him challenging guys to fight, which I never thought we'd see from him to be honest.

He's very young, he'll figure out what he needs to do to be successful in the playoffs.

He'll be our best D in under 2 years IMO.

Once he becomes more aware in the D zone he will be able of taking on 24 minutes a game or more.

Just needs to keep working on that skating.

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

His talent isnt the issue.

Its his lack of intensity or willing to battle in the defensive zone.

The issue is experience he's never going to be super intense or battle like his life depends on it, it's not who he is, he is a cerebral player he will beat guys through technique and positioning more so than laborious effort, but it'll take some time to get there and he's never likely going to be the kind of defensive stud we lean on, he's an offensive d-man it's likely to always be a bit of a game of give and take, but I suspect he'll give quite a bit more than he takes in the long run.

Even with barely over 100 games of NHL experience I'd choose him over Barrie for a defensive situation, that's got to say something.

 

[alanschu]

I sense you would have an entirely different viewpoint if he was Finnish.

For a young D-man with only a single NHL season under his belt he's done everything I think we could of reasonably asked of him.

When I look at Bouchard I see... a 22 year old defenseman that did well his first full season in the NHL.

Some school of hard knocks these playoffs unfortunately.

 

[bobbythebrain]

He got beat by experience. He hit the post on a go ahead goal

The kid is a rookie and judging by his summer commitment, he will come back stronger

Terrible play but it's a learning curve which I am confident he feeds off

 

[walktheboulavard]

He got beat by experience. He hit the post on a go ahead goal

The kid is a rookie and judging by his summer commitment, he will come back stronger

Terrible play but it's a learning curve which I am confident he feeds off

He'll be fine, Smith should have bailed him out there. Kid's going to come back a monster next year. Broberg will do his thing too, the Swedes got their defensive game down pat, so not too worried there.

 

[Trafalgar Sadge Law]

His talent isnt the issue.

Its his lack of intensity or willing to battle in the defensive zone.

I do wish he could improve in the defensive zone but even if he remains Tyson Barrie level defensively he's still a valuable asset to our org, it's just a roster can't have 2 Barries on a roster for matchup reasons and I say we move out the older more expensive one. As for the intensity thing I wonder if a lot of it is due to him being a cerebral player who relies on positioning moreso than athleticism. Drai and RNH are players who also sometimes look like they lack intensity b/c they're trying to predict where the puck is about to go (both offensive and defensive zones) rather than go after puck carriers. I've seen some encouraging signs from Bouchard defensively like how he's been standing up opposing forwards near the line more often in the playoffs. Just needs to start doing that more consistently.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

I do wish he could improve in the defensive zone but even if he remains Tyson Barrie level defensively he's still a valuable asset to our org, it's just a roster can't have 2 Barries on a roster for matchup reasons and I say we move out the older more expensive one. As for the intensity thing I wonder if a lot of it is due to him being a cerebral player who relies on positioning moreso than athleticism. Drai and RNH are players who also sometimes look like they lack intensity b/c they're trying to predict where the puck is about to go (both offensive and defensive zones) rather than go after puck carriers. I've seen some encouraging signs from Bouchard defensively like how he's been standing up opposing forwards near the line more often in the playoffs. Just needs to start doing that more consistently.

I agree, imagine a right side of Ceci-Larsson-Bouchard.

Much more balanced.

 

[RandomGuy79]

It's been a problem for at least a decade, playing a defenceman too high in the lineup and then absolutely roasting the guy for not performing at that level. We then trade him for peanuts, and they go on to excel on the new team when properly played. Rinse, repeat.

 

[CROTT]

Fair enough. obviously I'm pissed off with games 1 and 4 and a team thats been indifferent in half the games. But sometimes Bouchard just seems like a poster child for indifference. He Jultzes me sometimes. Sometimes I like him a lot, and other times..

Was just a frustration that the Oilers don't seem to find or acquire these kind of young gems. Durzi is already looking like a future #1 D so his ascent is pretty incredible. that he's doing this without a Doughty around to shoulder 1D is exceptional. Most players would be so overwhelmed the struggle would be all over.

I think we have a habit of over praising opposing teams players due to small sample size, and when they make a mistake often it results in a good chance for the Oilers so it distracts from the mistake. And when say Bouchard or Broberg make a mistake it's often not a good result, and then there's those that just hate the player as they wanted to draft a different prospect.

Not that Durzi played bad, just calling him a future #1 is a bit of an oversite at this time. Do you think other team were saying that about Nurse or Klefbom? And yes Bouchard needs to work on his defensive play, the tools and skill set is there, hopefully Manson can continue to work with him to improve. Even Bear was getting major praise in his rookie year, but was never able to get back to that level.

 

[McJadeddog]

He got beat by experience. He hit the post on a go ahead goal

The kid is a rookie and judging by his summer commitment, he will come back stronger

Terrible play but it's a learning curve which I am confident he feeds off

Yeah, I think people are freaking out over the bad play and ignoring the almost good play. If that shot is 2 cm more towards the net, its "post and in" and we very likely win last night. Everybody would be singing his praise. Instead the shot goes off the post, and he makes a bad play in the D zone. However, the even WORSE play was by Smith on the goal. If Smith makes that save (as he should 999 times out of 1000), we aren't talking about Bouchard getting beat, and maybe even win the game in OT.

Bouchard is the absolute least of our problems and we should all be very excited about what he'll end up being. I think he ends up being a very good 2nd pairing guy who is lights-out on the #1 PP unit. He might even end up being a real top-pairing guy, but that is far from assured at this point.

He'll be fine, Smith should have bailed him out there. Kid's going to come back a monster next year. Broberg will do his thing too, the Swedes got their defensive game down pat, so not too worried there.

I think Broberg comes in as a serviceable 3rd pairing defender on the left side next year. Hopefully Keith retires and we re-sign Kulak, and hopefully we trade Barrie.

The following D wouldn't be too bad at all, especially if the Barrie replacement can be an actually good defender:
Nurse-Ceci
Kulak-Bouchard
Broberg-<Barrie replacement>