Prospect Info: Tyler Boucher (F) - PART III

[Sens of Anarchy]

We waited six years for Logan Brown to become what we thought he could, and he never did, the least we can do is give Boucher two to three years to prove himself.

When the man who is never wrong speaks we should listen

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Yeah possibly. I am looking to make sense of it. When I watch Boucher play I see a player that should be putting up more points. He has solid tools and he creates scoring chances but the production isn't there. I think the EPrinskide article I posted did a solid breakdown on some of the things that Boucher is doing wrong and how making some adjustments could help increase his production.

One of the big things they mentioned was that Boucher should look for some safer plays and look to shield the puck more and work the boards. I had been thinking about this recently. He plays a bit like Crosby in terms of that stocky build with quick pivots and curlbacks. I mentioned before that I think he would benefit from watching and looking to emulate Crosby's puck protection game. Crosby really excels at that and Boucher's build, tools and style make it conducive to learn from Crosby in that aspect. If Boucher can learn to play more of a puck protection game, he could hold onto it longer in the offensive zone and allow for better play options to form.

Boucher relies too heavily on trying to create offense off the rush and while he can create some solid chances, he would likely create better and more frequent chances by trying to get more of a cycle game going. If he can shield the puck better then he can use his skating pivots and edgework as well as his vision to set up more dangerous passes. If he can play with some other players that play that puck possession cycle game then he can get himself in better positions to get quality shots off.

I think is the bottom line of the EP report
"Boucher might not live up to the lofty expectations that come with being the 10th-overall pick, but he still has top-nine tools, and unique ones, at that. To achieve it, his development must take another monumental leap or two. But don’t close the book on him yet."

Let's see how he does going forward. One step at a time.

 

[aragorn]

That is true, but it's only natural to want your 1st round picks to work out, especially a #10 overall.

I just wait versus chiming in & I don't see enough of him to even have an opinion.

I bet Edm wanted their 1st OA to work out when they drafted Yakopov too, sometimes it just doesn't work out. Way too early yet, Boucher has some skills including very good passing skills, he plays more & more like a slightly different version of Tkachuk IMO.

 

[OD99]

He had 1G & 1A in the 67's 7-6 loss Saturday.

1st multi point playoff game for him.

 

[SlapJack]

He had 1G & 1A in the 67's 7-6 loss Saturday.

1st multi point playoff game for him.

North Bay scored with 3 seconds left in regulation to win, heartbreaking.

Edit: Brandon Coe took a penalty with 2:10 left in the game then got a breakaway out of the box at the end to score with 2.5 seconds on the clock.

 

[Korpse]

He had 1G & 1A in the 67's 7-6 loss Saturday.

1st multi point playoff game for him.

The assist is exactly what I want to see more of from Boucher.



Attack with speed and make others catch up with the play, rather than slowing down and allowing others to catch up. Lots of open ice here and he has to show he can navigate through traffic in the NZ but it's a good display of his speed and how quickly he can get going. He's a great skater and he should use that to his advantage for often imo. Last page I saw a comparison to a more physical Zack Smith and it doesn't sit right with me because Smith could never move the way Boucher does. If Boucher can put everything together his ceiling his quite a bit higher than Zack Smith.

 

[HSF]

We waited six years for Logan Brown to become what we thought he could, and he never did, the least we can do is give Boucher two to three years to prove himself.

Brown looks to be a much better prospect than Boucher at this point

I think it’s okay for ppl to evaluate Bouchers game right now as it’s looking like a very poor pick

I’m willing to wait and see but it’s a tough road ahead for the kid

 

[GCK]

Brown looks to be a much better prospect than Boucher at this point

I think it’s okay for ppl to evaluate Bouchers game right now as it’s looking like a very poor pick

I’m willing to wait and see but it’s a tough road ahead for the kid

I have no problem calling Boucher a bad pick at this point but Brown was a brutal pick as well.

 

[Icelevel]

Re lack of points.
Honestly, his game isn’t there yet.
He is at the stage where he’s skating around using, polishing up his tools.
If there’s offence to come then it will show up some time next year. Possibly not till mid season though.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

The assist is exactly what I want to see more of from Boucher.



Attack with speed and make others catch up with the play, rather than slowing down and allowing others to catch up. Lots of open ice here and he has to show he can navigate through traffic in the NZ but it's a good display of his speed and how quickly he can get going. He's a great skater and he should use that to his advantage for often imo. Last page I saw a comparison to a more physical Zack Smith and it doesn't sit right with me because Smith could never move the way Boucher does. If Boucher can put everything together his ceiling his quite a bit higher than Zack Smith.

It looks like he’s going extremely fast in this clip

 

[Micklebot]

The assist is exactly what I want to see more of from Boucher.



Attack with speed and make others catch up with the play, rather than slowing down and allowing others to catch up. Lots of open ice here and he has to show he can navigate through traffic in the NZ but it's a good display of his speed and how quickly he can get going. He's a great skater and he should use that to his advantage for often imo. Last page I saw a comparison to a more physical Zack Smith and it doesn't sit right with me because Smith could never move the way Boucher does. If Boucher can put everything together his ceiling his quite a bit higher than Zack Smith.

on the one hand, I agree, but 4v4 hockey makes that type of play faaaar easier, particularly when the entire opposition goes for a line change at the same time.

 

[aragorn]

He hasn't used his speed as much as I would like & his shifts are kept short, whether that's coaching or fitness I'm not sure. Cameron likes to play 4 lines & he doesn't often change up his lines when he needs to score as other coaches might. Would be interesting to see him get a game in Belleville or Ottawa, he's got NHL size so physically he would be fine, but it would be interesting to see if he also has the skillset, since we see it in glimpses especially with C. Brown now out for the season.

 

[stempniaksen]

I still don't see anything more than Chris Neil who doesn't straddle the line anywhere near as well. Happy to be proven wrong here, but I hated the pick when it was made and my couple of live viewings since have done nothing to change that.

Was doing some reading on him from pre-draft over on the prospects board and I can understand what the Sens thought they saw in him. For a team with as much talent to reach on a guy they hoped could be Tom Wilson makes a modicum of sense considering the culture being built here. TBD if Boucher can have anywhere near that type of impact, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

[NyQuil]

Was doing some reading on him from pre-draft over on the prospects board and I can understand what the Sens thought they saw in him. For a team with as much talent to reach on a guy they hoped could be Tom Wilson makes a modicum of sense considering the culture being built here. TBD if Boucher can have anywhere near that type of impact, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

For my part, I think it's a bit arrogant to ever think you have enough talent, particularly top ten pick talent.

That ELC pipeline has to keep moving along for this team to ever really contend, and it should get a lot harder if this team actually improves in the standings and has to pick later on in the round.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

For my part, I think it's a bit arrogant to ever think you have enough talent, particularly top ten pick talent.

That ELC pipeline has to keep moving along for this team to ever really contend, and it should get a lot harder if this team actually improves in the standings and has to pick later on in the round.

Especially when we clearly don't yet. Like not even close.

 

[Ice-Tray]

That draft was the exact draft to reach on every pick, if you were going to swing for the fences on each pick that is.

We’ll see how it all pans out. Every pick we made is a guy that needs time to develop into what the scouts thought they saw.

I still have high hopes for both Boucher and Ostapchuk to be important pieces for our team in a couple seasons.

 

[ijif]

That draft was the exact draft to reach on every pick, if you were going to swing for the fences on each pick that is.

We’ll see how it all pans out. Every pick we made is a guy that needs time to develop into what the scouts thought they saw.

I still have high hopes for both Boucher and Ostapchuk to be important pieces for our team in a couple seasons.

We made multiple low percentage bets at the 2021 draft. We were not swinging for the fences.

 

[R2010]

That draft was the exact draft to reach on every pick, if you were going to swing for the fences on each pick that is.

We’ll see how it all pans out. Every pick we made is a guy that needs time to develop into what the scouts thought they saw.

I still have high hopes for both Boucher and Ostapchuk to be important pieces for our team in a couple seasons.

Fine to swing. But we very clearly were gifted a player who should have been ranked higher (Sillinger) and passed on him. If you got a player who is one of the most skilled in the draft and one of the more physical who has demonstrated excellence in *multiple* different leagues then missing on that was a big big miss for Mann. There's lots of people who want the most skilled guy every year but those people have big flaws. This wasn't that - no one thought he wouldn't be a top six forward. Our rebuild is in a different position with that pick not being a miss.

This isn't even like the Mantha situation where there were huge character questions. This is just really a departure from being able to understand what they were thinking. They drafted a player who they hoped would be 2 years down the road looking like Sillinger was in his draft year. Weird stuff.

 

[Micklebot]

Fine to swing. But we very clearly were gifted a player who should have been ranked higher (Sillinger) and passed on him. If you got a player who is one of the most skilled in the draft and one of the more physical who has demonstrated excellence in *multiple* different leagues then missing on that was a big big miss for Mann. There's lots of people who want the most skilled guy every year but those people have big flaws. This wasn't that - no one thought he wouldn't be a top six forward. Our rebuild is in a different position with that pick not being a miss.

This isn't even like the Mantha situation where there were huge character questions. This is just really a departure from being able to understand what they were thinking. They drafted a player who they hoped would be 2 years down the road looking like Sillinger was in his draft year. Weird stuff.

Who in the top 10 (outside of Boucher) would you take Sillinger ahead of? I think McKenzie had him 11th, with Lucius being the only other guy he thought would go ahead of Sillinger.

 

[ijif]

Who in the top 10 (outside of Boucher) would you take Sillinger ahead of? I think McKenzie had him 11th, with Lucius being the only other guy he thought would go ahead of Sillinger.

Everyone but Power, Clarke, Eklund, and Beniers.

 

[Korpse]

on the one hand, I agree, but 4v4 hockey makes that type of play faaaar easier, particularly when the entire opposition goes for a line change at the same time.

Absolutely, I tired to acknowledge how much open ice there was and I reiterated that he needs be able to go trough traffic for that to translate to the next level. My criticism of him in game 1 was that he didn't play with enough speed when he had the puck in transition. I wasn't able to watch game 2 but it was nice to see that highlight because it does show off his skating. I thought he played much quicker last night as well and had a strong game.

Boucher is a project at this point. There's a lot of things I like about his game, especially his skating and his attention to detail off the puck. There's a lot of development that needs to happen before he becomes an effective NHL player though. There's a very real possibility he never reaches a level that would satisfy the fan base but I do see reasons to be optimistic in what he can bring outside of the physical aspects of his game. The tools are there to be a complimentary offensive player but he is further from that upside than most draft prospects taken where he was.

 

[Micklebot]

Everyone but Power, Clarke, Eklund, and Beniers.

fair enough, I'd still take Guenther, Evidsson, Hughes and McTavich over him, probably Johnson too. It's not about who's best now, it's about the long term and I still like the other guys over him in that regard.

 

[jhutter]

At present time, the pick appears to be a triumphant waste of 10 OA. If Boucher doesn't tear the OHL up next season, I think Mann has some explaining to do.

 

[J bo Jeans]

How did this guy go 10th overall. With the stats hes produced most guys wouldn't even be drafted.
I saw him last night vs North Bay and he wasn't anything too special.

 

[ijif]

fair enough, I'd still take Guenther, Evidsson, Hughes and McTavich over him, probably Johnson too. It's not about who's best now, it's about the long term and I still like the other guys over him in that regard.

That was my opinion at the time of the draft. I don’t watch guys enough in DY+1 to adjust my opinions after that.