Prospect Info: Tyler Boucher (RW/LW) - Don`t sleep on Tyler Boucher

[Ice-Tray]

Certainly possible we'd send him back though unlike Greig had had NHL size. In any event my point was more that we don't need to bring a center in as a center, a guy like Sillinger can come in as a winger, just like Stü did and Greig may very well end up doing.

Oh sure, he wouldn’t likely be a centre on our team at the moment, just saying that if we had drafted him there’s a good chance he’d be playing with Grieg and the boys in Belleville right now further developing his game.

 

[GCK]

The idea that Sillinger isn't a physical player is incorrect. He is a guy that teams win with, just happens to have a great shot and some skill too.

And earlier you mentioned him as being an undersized C...he is 6'1" and 200lbs...Boucher is same height and listed at 205lbs. Sillinger has a much better shot.

It's fine to like Boucher but Sillinger is a very good, young player. No need to try and run him down to make Boucher look better in comparison.

No one is running down Sillinger to make Boucher look better. I don’t think Boucher will ever be more than a 3rd liner. I brought up Sillinger to say I watched him against Pitt, my sole viewing this year, and though he was disengaged and lazy.

 

[OD99]

No one is running down Sillinger to make Boucher look better. I don’t think Boucher will ever be more than a 3rd liner. I brought up Sillinger to say I watched him against Pitt, my sole viewing this year, and though he was disengaged and lazy.

Not saying you specifically at all but there are plenty of posts downplaying Sillinger's impact so far and it doesn't make sense.

Most of it is flat out, verifiably wrong, so pointing those out.

 

[bert]

Because players making the NHL for physicality were major offensive contributors if not team leaders at the CHL level. They were all dominating players at this level. So yes it is a valid cause for concern. You draft for physicality in the 5th+ round not the 1st.

And I would not describe Boucher as a heavy player. He will be an average sized NHL player.

This is Bouchers first full season and has 5 goals in 6 games. Is that not a major offensive contributor?

Well you dont know what you are looking at then if you dont think he is heavy or plays heavy thats why he was picked. He was great on the forcheck in pre season.

Sillinger would have been the better pick there is no debate. However that doesnt mean Boucher cant be a contributing player. The sens are starting to show the identity that management had in mind when building this roster. They are a relentless 4 line team that is heavy on the forcheck. Some people around here may not like that style but its how you win. Constant pressure on the opposing D wears on them and leads to turnovers and zone time. Boucher when he is ready is going to fit into the team identity very well. It probably wont be as soon as most people have hoped but he will get there some day. His development curve is going to be a longer one. You guys are just going to have to be patient. Or you can come and complain here on a regular basis. Your choice. However the sooner you come to the realization your complaining isnt going to change the pick or the team identity that is being built here the more enjoyable its going to be for you to be a fan.

Winning is fun he is going to help them win as long as they continue to build this type of team.

 

[DylanSensFan]

I don't really understand the inclusion of Yashin here, he's at worst one of the top 3 centers we've drafted and returned a kings ransom before his career was derailed by injuries with the NYI.

I think it is more so how we lost him. Yes, he got us a lot in return. But in leaving Ottawa, he also potentially tainted our team and made us seem like a place that superstars were not interested in playing. Not withstanding, Spezza, Heatley and Alfredsson and others we drafted or traded for.

 

[Hale The Villain]

I've noticed he isn't making the big hits he did pre-draft and last season. Wonder if it's due to injuries racking up or a change in his style of play.

Glad he's scoring more but the biggest reason he went 10th OVR is because he was one of the most fearsome hitters at 17 in many years.

This is Bouchers first full season and has 5 goals in 6 games. Is that not a major offensive contributor?

Well you dont know what you are looking at then if you dont think he is heavy or plays heavy thats why he was picked. He was great on the forcheck in pre season.

Sillinger would have been the better pick there is no debate. However that doesnt mean Boucher cant be a contributing player. The sens are starting to show the identity that management had in mind when building this roster. They are a relentless 4 line team that is heavy on the forcheck. Some people around here may not like that style but its how you win. Constant pressure on the opposing D wears on them and leads to turnovers and zone time. Boucher when he is ready is going to fit into the team identity very well. It probably wont be as soon as most people have hoped but he will get there some day. His development curve is going to be a longer one. You guys are just going to have to be patient. Or you can come and complain here on a regular basis. Your choice. However the sooner you come to the realization your complaining isnt going to change the pick or the team identity that is being built here the more enjoyable its going to be for you to be a fan.

Winning is fun he is going to help them win as long as they continue to build this type of team.

8 points in 7 games isn't impressive for a 19 year old, especially considering at least two of them came from shooting on an empty net.

Expectations are at rock bottom after his failed draft+1 season but he's got some skill and a heavy shot. Should expect more from him.

 

[aragorn]

If we drafted Sillinger, we'd likely have introduced him as a winger, just like we did with Stutzle. Sillinger is the same size as Boucher, not sure why you think he's small, and he played a pretty physical game in his draft year. The narrative that Sillinger is a skilled guy that can't or won't be able to handle the rough stuff come playoffs seems off to me, he was drafted to be a power forward with an elite shot.

We had Tkachuk, Stutzle & Formenton to start on LW last season & when they moved Stutzle to centre Paul became the 3rd line LW. On RW we had Batherson, C. Brown, Tyler Ennis & a couple of others playing RW. Not sure there was room on the wing either unless he beat out Ennis or Gaudette, two vets.

 

[Micklebot]

We had Tkachuk, Stutzle & Formenton to start on LW last season & when they moved Stutzle to centre Paul became the 3rd line LW. On RW we had Batherson, C. Brown, Tyler Ennis & a couple of others playing RW. Not sure there was room on the wing either unless he beat out Ennis or Gaudette, two vets.

We didn't have Gaudette until late Nov.

We started the season with guys like Shaw and Sabourin in the lineup, traded for Sanford and signed Ennis to a PTO.

 

[bert]

I've noticed he isn't making the big hits he did pre-draft and last season. Wonder if it's due to injuries racking up or a change in his style of play.

Glad he's scoring more but the biggest reason he went 10th OVR is because he was one of the most fearsome hitters at 17 in many years.



8 points in 7 games isn't impressive for a 19 year old, especially considering at least two of them came from shooting on an empty net.

Expectations are at rock bottom after his failed draft+1 season but he's got some skill and a heavy shot. Should expect more from him.

6 goals in 7 games is unreal. Its a 50 goal pace. Expectations arent 'rock bottom' just alot of hyperbole from posters that dont understand development. With 0 context and understanding that injuries and moving programs, cities etc can impact a player.

 

[Cosmix]

Not defending the Boucher pick at 10OA in the slightest but this seemed like a good place to post this.

I watched Sillinger against the Pens yesterday and I’m unsure why everyone thinks he’s the next coming of Christ. It was one game but not impressed at all. Looks like a bottom 6 forward to me.

I don’t recall anyone, let alone everyone, claiming Sillinger was the second coming of Christ.

 

[Micklebot]

6 goals in 7 games is unreal. Its a 50 goal pace. Expectations arent 'rock bottom' just alot of hyperbole from posters that dont understand development. With 0 context and understanding that injuries and moving programs, cities etc can impact a player.

I think expecting 50 goals is optimistic, He's averaging 4 shots a game and shooting at a little over 15% with the goalie in the net, yes EN goals count just the same and other guys get them too but right now 1/3 of his goals are EN goals, that won't last, as the season goes on he's going to need to do more to keep up his current goal pace.

 

[Cosmix]

The notion of having two players in our top 9 that will be physical beasts fighting for loose pucks and creating space has me hyped. Defenses will have so much trouble figuring out how to match up against an offense that has multiple players that play the way Tkachuk, Boucher, etc... would.

I like the notion!

 

[Hale The Villain]

6 goals in 7 games is unreal. Its a 50 goal pace. Expectations arent 'rock bottom' just alot of hyperbole from posters that dont understand development. With 0 context and understanding that injuries and moving programs, cities etc can impact a player.

Noticed you left out assists. If he's only finishing goals and isn't setting them up that's not ideal.

He's not going to score 1/3 of his goals into empty nets, so I don't think looking at pace is the right metric here.

 

[RAFI BOMB]

I've noticed he isn't making the big hits he did pre-draft and last season. Wonder if it's due to injuries racking up or a change in his style of play.

Glad he's scoring more but the biggest reason he went 10th OVR is because he was one of the most fearsome hitters at 17 in many years.



8 points in 7 games isn't impressive for a 19 year old, especially considering at least two of them came from shooting on an empty net.

Expectations are at rock bottom after his failed draft+1 season but he's got some skill and a heavy shot. Should expect more from him.

He is still throwing those big hits, he is just picking his spots better. Previously, he had the tendency to go hunting for the big hits which would take him out of position, now he is finding a way to consistently play solid positioning and finding opportunities within that to land big hits.

After the rookie tournament both Troy Mann and Trent Mann specifically mentioned that positioning was one of the things that Boucher would need to continue to work on. I would argue that is positioning was good before but not optimized for goal scoring and offensive production. From what I have seen this season, his positioning is now much more conducive to generating offense.

I have watched parts of most of the games he has played this season and I've noticed that he is consistently generating a fairly high amount of scoring chances. This is a significant improvement over his play last season. It is also the kind of improvement that pays off over the long run.

I am confused why people are expecting some monumental leap in production this early into the season. Given all the development time he has missed, why would he not need to go through some development curve? It seems much more realistic to expect that Boucher's production would increase as the season progresses and he gains more development. If that ends up being the case then Boucher's total production at the end of the season would end up far exceeding what a lot of people's expectations are of him.

Given the fact that he has drastically improved his positioning and is generating multiple quality scoring chances per game, it seems likely that it is just a function of time for those chances to translate into a leap in production. That is why I argued that I think we will see a leap in production in the 2nd half of the season. He will start to settle into the right positioning and will be able to focus more on picking his shot angles and setting up passes to generate dangerous scoring chances.

 

[GCK]

I've noticed he isn't making the big hits he did pre-draft and last season. Wonder if it's due to injuries racking up or a change in his style of play.

Glad he's scoring more but the biggest reason he went 10th OVR is because he was one of the most fearsome hitters at 17 in many years.



8 points in 7 games isn't impressive for a 19 year old, especially considering at least two of them came from shooting on an empty net.

Expectations are at rock bottom after his failed draft+1 season but he's got some skill and a heavy shot. Should expect more from him.

I’ve watched parts 67s games so far. Boucher is still laying big hits he just isn’t getting out of position chasing them. It’s actually been the biggest improvement in his game.

 

[Pinto Bean]

Because players making the NHL for physicality were major offensive contributors if not team leaders at the CHL level. They were all dominating players at this level. So yes it is a valid cause for concern. You draft for physicality in the 5th+ round not the 1st.

And I would not describe Boucher as a heavy player. He will be an average sized NHL player.

This. Like I mentioned in a previous post, I have't had the opportunity to watch Boucher this year so I was wondering if he is actually living up to his billing of being a physical player?

I watched him a bit last season and quite frankly, I didn't see a physical player at all. It truly seems like this phsyicality angle is based on his pre-draft scouting report & that one time he hit someone through the glass. And on an NHL player scale, the guy isn't overly big.

Can someone who has actually watched Boucher play this year chime in on these rugged/physical player claims or is is this all a preconceived notion on the player?

We see clips of Ostapchuk, Kleven, Greig, and even Crookshank being physical and stirring the pot quite a bit when they play but quite frankly, you don't see that with Boucher.

EDIT: Just noticed this was kind of answered in previous posts but I'll keep it here for sake of discussion cause I still don't think he's all that physical. It seems like that is his only potentially redeeming attribute so fans are hanging onto it.

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

I think expecting 50 goals is optimistic, He's averaging 4 shots a game and shooting at a little over 15% with the goalie in the net, yes EN goals count just the same and other guys get them too but right now 1/3 of his goals are EN goals, that won't last, as the season goes on he's going to need to do more to keep up his current goal pace.

Touching only on the shooting %, I don't think its totally unreasonable for him to maintain that (even while shooting 4x per game). A decent amount of guys shoot in that 15-20+% range in the C. Not to say its a lock, by any means, and I agree with you that its optimistic, but he seems like he can score pretty well from range, his teammates seem to be looking for him, and he will also get plenty of shots from HDAs.

 

[Micklebot]

Touching only on the shooting %, I don't think its totally unreasonable for him to maintain that (even while shooting 4x per game). A decent amount of guys shoot in that 15-20+% range in the C. Not to say its a lock, by any means, and I agree with you that its optimistic, but he seems like he can score pretty well from range, his teammates seem to be looking for him, and he will also get plenty of shots from HDAs.

He shoots at about 15% with a goalie in net, I think he's likely to maintain that. How many more EN goals will be get though, it comes down to opportunity, the have to be leading in close games. If he scores 10 EN goals over the year, and at 15% with a goalie in net while maintaining 4 shots a game, he'll come shy of 50. 10 EN goals seems high to me, idk how common they are in the OHL but last year Ovechkin led the NHL with 9 in 78 games

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

He shoots at about 15% with a goalie in net, I think he's likely to maintain that. How many more EN goals will be get though, it comes down to opportunity, the have to be leading in close games. If he scores 10 EN goals over the year, and at 15% with a goalie in net while maintaining 4 shots a game, he'll come shy of 50. 10 EN goals seems high to me, idk how common they are in the OHL but last year Ovechkin led the NHL with 9 in 78 games

Yeah, I cant find specific stats but would be shocked if 10 ENG occurs with any regularity. And 50 goals is for sure a super high benchmark... probably happens 2 or 3 times a year on average.

 

[bert]

Noticed you left out assists. If he's only finishing goals and isn't setting them up that's not ideal.

He's not going to score 1/3 of his goals into empty nets, so I don't think looking at pace is the right metric here.

He's a power winger...... What are you expecting? Seems like you're very unfamiliar with Boucher.

You know you have an agenda when you're finding reasons to be unhappy with 6 goals in 7 games for a power winger.

Guess what the sens are stuck with him. Maybe watch a game before shitting on the 19 year old prospect.

Touching only on the shooting %, I don't think its totally unreasonable for him to maintain that (even while shooting 4x per game). A decent amount of guys shoot in that 15-20+% range in the C. Not to say its a lock, by any means, and I agree with you that its optimistic, but he seems like he can score pretty well from range, his teammates seem to be looking for him, and he will also get plenty of shots from HDAs.

He's also going to bang home goals because he is bigger and stronger. Plus he has a heavy shot. Everything points to him having a higher than average shooting percentage.

 

[Hale The Villain]

He's a power winger...... What are you expecting? Seems like you're very unfamiliar with Boucher.

You know you have an agenda when you're finding reasons to be unhappy with 6 goals in 7 games for a power winger.

Guess what the sens are stuck with him. Maybe watch a game before shitting on the 19 year old prospect.

I'm not praising him over putting up 4 goals, 2 Zaitsevs and 2 assists in 7 games as a physically developed 19YR old playing against younger weaker players.

You can consider that shitting on him or having an agenda, I consider it disappointing production for a 10th OVR pick.

 

[GCK]

I'm not praising him over putting up 4 goals, 2 Zaitsevs and 2 assists in 7 games as a physically developed 19YR old playing against younger weaker players.

You can consider that shitting on him or having an agenda, I consider it disappointing production for a 10th OVR pick.

There is some context that you omit. He only played 70 games total in his D-1,D and D+1 years, so that’s very little development over 3 years.

 

[ottawah]

6 goals in 7 games is unreal. Its a 50 goal pace. Expectations arent 'rock bottom' just alot of hyperbole from posters that dont understand development. With 0 context and understanding that injuries and moving programs, cities etc can impact a player.

6 goals in 7 games is hardly unreal. He's 11th league wise in goals this year. In most years that pretty much places him top 5 in goals in the OHL which is really nice, but hardly unreal. But he has to keep that pace. I hope he does, so lets wait and see.

And I think people here understand development quite well. It not like other players have never had an injury or moved cities. In fact it happens all the time. Pretty much every OHL and US college player has had to move cities. Every USNDP have moved multiple times before they get a shot. and they all seem to do extremely well. To be honest, I cannot think of any USNDP player who would be considered a late bloomer they all peak early. They are already highly developed players, the best program in the world for development.

 

[ottawah]

There is some context that you omit. He only played 70 games total in his D-1,D and D+1 years, so that’s very little development over 3 years.

Thats hardly unusual today. In his draft Power has 100 games, Berniers 90. About 100 for MacTavish. 90 for Edvisson. 110 for MacTavish. 90 for Hughes. 80 for Edvisson.

70 is lower, but it not far off what many of the players in his draft year have done.

 

[bert]

6 goals in 7 games is hardly unreal. He's 11th league wise in goals this year. In most years that pretty much places him top 5 in goals in the OHL which is really nice, but hardly unreal. But he has to keep that pace. I hope he does, so lets wait and see.

And I think people here understand development quite well. It not like other players have never had an injury or moved cities. In fact it happens all the time. Pretty much every OHL and US college player has had to move cities. Every USNDP have moved multiple times before they get a shot. and they all seem to do extremely well. To be honest, I cannot think of any USNDP player who would be considered a late bloomer they all peak early. They are already highly developed players, the best program in the world for development.

I'd say based on this response you actually have no clue about player development. Different types of players develop at different rates. You're in denial if you think that moving teams cities systems doesn't effect a player. You're shitting on 6 goals in 7 games. No need to continue this discussion.

I'm not praising him over putting up 4 goals, 2 Zaitsevs and 2 assists in 7 games as a physically developed 19YR old playing against younger weaker players.

You can consider that shitting on him or having an agenda, I consider it disappointing production for a 10th OVR pick.

Well you also think teams should never ever miss on draft picks. Maybe you should be employed by an NHL team as you'd clearly do so much better.

Keep on going with your bitching and complaining. You're stuck with the player. Maybe go be a fan of another team I dunno...

You refuse to acknowledge the type of player this is. It's unbelievable.