LW Reid Boucher (2011, 99th overall, New Jersey)

[RSeen]

In the NHL, he didnt look overwhelmed and averaged over a shot a game despite playing limited minutes and with goons. Sometimes, some players translate better to the pros than others and I dont think expecting him to end up like Steve Downie is unreasonable

He played with Kovalchuk a lot too...

 

[richardsequalscup*]

Poor drafting? Oh wait, you're a Rangers fan

Josefson, Larsson, Merrill, Boucher, Fayne, Severson, Henrique, Gelinas, Cormier, Palmieri

Not bad for a team picking in the late 20s every year

Josefson, Gelinas, Cormier and Palmieri are all bad. None of them will ever be a good NHL player. The fact you listed them proves my point. Boucher has to make the NHL. Fayne and Severson are not highly rated prospects. Henrique is a good NHL player. Larsson should be. That's a very poor amount of players the past 8 years. Essentially you have 2 or 3 players over the last 5 to 8 years that are good NHL players. That is poor drafting. Matteau hasn't done anything. He played in the NHL, he was rushed, he stunk. Now he is back in juniors. Of that group Merrill is the most talented not counting Henrique and Larsson. Anybody who knows about Merrill knows he is not coachable and has a severe attitude problem.

 

[Baemon Severson*]

Josefson, Gelinas, Cormier and Palmieri are all bad. None of them will ever be a good NHL player. The fact you listed them proves my point. Boucher has to make the NHL. Fayne and Severson are not highly rated prospects. Henrique is a good NHL player. Larsson should be. That's a very poor amount of players the past 8 years. Essentially you have 2 or 3 players over the last 5 to 8 years that are good NHL players. That is poor drafting. Matteau hasn't done anything. He played in the NHL, he was rushed, he stunk. Now he is back in juniors. Of that group Merrill is the most talented not counting Henrique and Larsson. Anybody who knows about Merrill knows he is not coachable and has a severe attitude problem.

Lol @ Josefson being a bad player.

Cormier/Bergfors (who I did not include) were the main pieces to acquire Kovalchuk

Palmieri was an important piece to get Zidlicky

Halischuk landed Arnott

Everything you said about Matteau, I could easily apply to Kreider, so I'm not gonna go there. Matteau has the same amount of points in the NHL as "the next one" and he is 3 years younger. If Kreider doesn't have tremendous luck in the playoffs, no one is talking about him.

Merrill is uncoachable? That's news to me. Are you Red Berenson or Rick Kowalsky? An 18 year old gets in trouble- color me shocked. Seems like he has really turned his life around and has played very well in the AHL so far

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

I like how this guy knows 22 and 21 year old players will never be anything in the NHL

 

[DevilChuk*]

I like how this guy knows 22 and 21 year old players will never be anything in the NHL

No, only Devils prospects of age 22 and 21 will never be anything in the NHL.

Krieder on the other hand..

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Boucher gets a lot of his goals from the slot. The problem with that is NHL teams are exceptional now at taking away those shots. His defensive game is also non existent on most nights. However, considering the severe lack of talent on the Devils roster due to poor drafting over the past 5 to 8 years, he has a legit opportunity to secure a roster spot next fall.

That same severely untalented team beat your rangers in 6 games last season. Our drafting has been fine, we have consistently selected NHL players with our picks. But who needs drafting when you can nab guys like Loktionov for 5th round picks and add undrafted players like Clarkson, Greene, Rafalski, and Madden?

 

[BrodeursCups]

Josefson, Gelinas, Cormier and Palmieri are all bad. None of them will ever be a good NHL player. The fact you listed them proves my point. Boucher has to make the NHL. Fayne and Severson are not highly rated prospects. Henrique is a good NHL player. Larsson should be. That's a very poor amount of players the past 8 years. Essentially you have 2 or 3 players over the last 5 to 8 years that are good NHL players. That is poor drafting. Matteau hasn't done anything. He played in the NHL, he was rushed, he stunk. Now he is back in juniors. Of that group Merrill is the most talented not counting Henrique and Larsson. Anybody who knows about Meill knows he is not coachable and has a severe attitude problem.

This is one of the single dumbest posts I've ever seen on HF. Bravo sir...

 

[geoo9]

shoots like kovi just lefhanded

 

[PensFan6687]

Merrill not coachable? That's why he stayed for one more year of College vs. turning pro (because he had that option), or the fact Berenson said he has matured a lot this year. Yeah, but he's not coachable. He only represented his country in the WJC as one of the more reliable rearguards, and so what if he had issues in the past. Not like we didn't as teenagers. People seriously need to not hold onto one thing and write a player off based on that one thing. Take a look in the mirror, and see yourself. Take a good look. You have done some questionable things. Would you want people to be stuck on the few dipstick things you did in life or the good you did? There is a reason why Merrill is highly regarded.

 

[Baemon Severson*]

Merrill not coachable? That's why he stayed for one more year of College vs. turning pro (because he had that option), or the fact Berenson said he has matured a lot this year. Yeah, but he's not coachable. He only represented his country in the WJC as one of the more reliable rearguards, and so what if he had issues in the past. Not like we didn't as teenagers. People seriously need to not hold onto one thing and write a player off based on that one thing. Take a look in the mirror, and see yourself. Take a good look. You have done some questionable things. Would you want people to be stuck on the few dipstick things you did in life or the good you did? There is a reason why Merrill is highly regarded.

Seriously. Rumor has it he either got caught smoking weed or was skipping classes. Again, we all did this

 

[Robert Theodorson]

Boucher now has 3 goals and 2 assists in 5 AHL games this season.

Great news, hopefully we see him in full time action as soon as 2014-15, Devils certainly need another shooter.

 

[Devilsfan992]

Bump... Boucher has been magnificent in the AHL. He is currently 6th in the AHL in rooking scoring, however two of the players above him are 1990's. The other three are Strome, Kucherov, and Trocheck. He is also 2nd in SOG for rookies, and 6th overall in the AHL. I have not watched any games live so I can not report on any other aspects of the game besides what he puts up on the score sheet, but he is a + player and has been distributing the puck well.

Stats:

Games : 20
Goals : 9
Assists : 8
SOG : 67
+/- +3

 

[Devils Trap]

He is still great at finding empty pockets of space and using that lethal shot

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

7 goals and 4 assists in last 10 AHL games with 30 shots at a very young 20 years old. I still think he needs a full season in the AHL to develop but if he starts pushing 4 shots per game I have a hard time believing he will be in the AHL for long with holes in his game or not.

 

[Lou is God]

Will make his Devils and NHL debut tonight.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Will make his Devils and NHL debut tonight.

Will probably pot a goal on the PP.

 

[Woodhouse]

Per morning skate reports, Boucher is skating at LW with Elias and Bernier. He'll wear #15.

 

[Woodhouse]

Boucher moved to a line with Loktionov and Ryder to start the third period and then picked up his first NHL point, a primary assist, midway through. He also drew a hooking call on the following shift.

[NHL]2013020419-488-h[/NHL]

 

[Rabid Ranger]

.....and scored in the shootout. Looked really solid.

 

[zharkenby]

You can tell he's still a bit raw, however it was a very solid debut. Aside from the Ryder goal he assisted on, he also set him up on a 2 on 1 with a great pass. Both shots were legit opportunities. Wouldn't be shocked if he pots his first goal friday, still think he should spend the majority of the year in Albany though.

 

[CanadienKid25]

Aside from the homerism of the NJ broadcast, he did look solid. Hard worker. You could tell he wasn't always in in sync with his linemates though (nothing specific I can remember) but that can be true of any player.

 

[AmericanDream]

Boucher and Merrill look to be the next big building blocks of American players that the Devils always seem to find a way to have. Great job kid!

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Real impressed by his vision and playmaking abilities. Stylistically he is the mist similar player to Brett Hull that I can recall. Hes got vision, elusive hands, and a bomb of a shot. Love his awareness

 

[Steazy Doo]

This guy looks like he's gonna be a good one. I've never seen him play before that Montreal game, but he was all over the place. Great release, too.

 

[HenriquesJawLine]

Boucher has made big improvements in his all around game this year, he wanted to prove he wasn't a good shot one trick pony. 19 points in 35 NHL games and trending up. Hopefully the start of a Sarnia pipeline.