Johnny Boychuk as a prospect

[KlattNazty]

Was looking for a bit of info on this guy when he was in the avalanche organization, and what he looked like as a member of the AHL team and in juniours?

I compare TML's prospect Jesse Blacker to him in play style, and was wondering if I could get some info from others that had seen Boychuk play when he was younger. My dad pointed it out to me, and I have only seen Boychuk when he was in the NHL but I can see similarities.

Blacker's game was quite offense in the juniors, but he has (and is slowly) adapting into a mobile, strong, hard-nosed and heavy hitting defenseman in the AHL. He needs to continue to work on his positioning and gain additional strength to play defense at the next level. He has some offensive skills, although they have not produced much at the AHL level.

Thanks guys, hopefully you have some input

 

[R S]

Saw him in the top prospects game as a junior. Won the hardest shot competition. Besides that, he wasn't outstanding in any other area of his game. Just a well rounded guy that has worked hard and really developed his game to a point where you can now call him a safe top 4-5 dman on any team.

Would be nice to still have a guy like him on our club. He's a better version of O'Byrne.

 

[Tommy Shelby]

Yeah he was nothing too special, minus his bomb from the point. It wasn't overly accurate though, and he was pretty slow. But then he worked his tail off after we traded him and took leaps in his development.

 

[Bonzai12]

So bad as a defensemen we tried him on the wing. That should tell you enough.

 

[Pokecheque]

Still remember the story of how he was so psyched to be drafted by the Avs that he didn't want to give his jersey back.

From what I know of the kid, he was a big hitter with a big shot, but not a lot of hockey sense. I think he's a perfect fit for what the Bruins need him to do, not so sure he'd have excelled here though. In most cases a guy like that is 3rd pairing at best, but when you have a guy like Zdeno freakin' Chara who almost counts as two elite defenders by himself, you have some flexibility.

 

[KlattNazty]

Very fair guys.

Thank you for the input. Looking back seems like alot of scouting reports point out his mobility as a big problem of his. Blacker doesnt have this problem, so perhaps they are not as similar as I thought.

Although Blacker's IQ is questioned similarly.