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

[bert]

Counterpoint: if finishing your hit means using your leg as a fulcrum to flip the the opposing player backwards and put him head first onto the ice, then maybe we need to change what a legal hit is, regardless of what level of hockey is being played.

Yeah I guess if that is what happened. But it didnt so I dont really know what to say.

 

[BondraTime]

It was a very clear slew foot, I’m unsure how that’s not being agreed upon.

 

[OD99]

Yeah I guess if that is what happened. But it didnt so I dont really know what to say.

It's all the eye of the beholder.

Looked like a slew foot to me immediately. It's more subtle as it is along the boards and not a, "traditional" from behind version but still made it impossible for the kid to protect himself.

I have no problem with harsh penalties to reduce cheap shots and dangerous play.

Odd stance to chalk it up to PR as though that would be a bad thing.

 

[ksens]

Counterpoint: if finishing your hit means using your leg as a fulcrum to flip the the opposing player backwards and put him head first onto the ice, then maybe we need to change what a legal hit is, regardless of what level of hockey is being played.

The OHL rulebook: "Slew footing is ... or uses his leg as leverage and pushes his opponent's upper body backwards causing his opponent to trip or fall."

What you describe and what Boucher did is textbook slew footing per the OHL rulebook.

The player that Boucher slew footed was injured, and as others have pointed out the OHL definitely punishes outcomes. The suspension is justified and the length is not surprising in the least.

 

[bert]

It's all the eye of the beholder.

Looked like a slew foot to me immediately. It's more subtle as it is along the boards and not a, "traditional" from behind version but still made it impossible for the kid to protect himself.

I have no problem with harsh penalties to reduce cheap shots and dangerous play.

Odd stance to chalk it up to PR as though that would be a bad thing.

It wasnt a slew foot he is using his lowerbody to engage and deliver the hit. There is a massive difference.

 

[OD99]

It wasnt a slew foot he is using his lowerbody to engage and deliver the hit. There is a massive difference.

Can't comment on how you view something.

We see it differently, that's all.

 

[Micklebot]

Yeah I guess if that is what happened. But it didnt so I dont really know what to say.

The replay Kenny walls tweeted pretty clearly shows the raised leg behind acting as a fulcrum as the player rotates over Bouchers left leg and lands pretty much head to the ice. Doesn't mean Boucher intended for that to happen that way, but I don't know how you can deny how it happened. Boucher gets his left leg behind the body and shoulders hitting in the front of the body,

 

[aragorn]

The kid hit his head on the ice & we all know what kind of a result that could have turned into therefore it's understandable in todays climate that they are going to try & take that out of the game. These are mostly teenagers afterall & no one wants to see a kid seriously hurt & his future ruined by a head injury.

What used to be no longer is & there is a new reality taking over hockey to reduce serious injuries & severely penalize those who would cause serious injury with a controversial hit. I doubt Boucher was trying to hurt the kid, but it was a hard hit as so many of his hits are that can easily hurt smaller players, the way Boucher is built he could hurt bigger players too. He has NHL size, weight & strength & he is solid on his skates.

 

[bert]

The replay Kenny walls tweeted pretty clearly shows the raised leg behind acting as a fulcrum as the player rotates over Bouchers left leg and lands pretty much head to the ice. Doesn't mean Boucher intended for that to happen that way, but I don't know how you can deny how it happened. Boucher gets his left leg behind the body and shoulders hitting in the front of the body,

Just watched it 15 times in a row thats not a slew foot. He finishes his check and he is stronger. The player got stuck because he was pressed against the glass. A slew foot is when you kick a players feet out from under him.

 

[Micklebot]

Just watched it 15 times in a row thats not a slew foot. He finishes his check and he is stronger. The player got stuck because he was pressed against the glass. A slew foot is when you kick a players feet out from under him.

Ok. What I said was maybe rules need to change for hits like that one, since the way it was executed created a very dangerous situation. Just like the hitter needs to be responsible for not hitting a guy in the head, they should perhaps be responsible for not rotating a guy over their back leg resulting in them coming down backwards head into the ice. The hit was dangerous for the same reason a slew foot is dangerous even if the mechanics differ somewhat.

I also think the camera angle of Wall's video is a bit deceiving, Boucher comes in at an angle, his leg carries through under the player as a result of their respective vectors. There's no sweeping motion, but the result is the players legs come out from beneath him.

I think we've all watched it "15 times" + at this point, we'll likely just have to agree to disagree on what happened, failing a frame by frame analysis.

 

[bert]

Ok. What I said was maybe rules need to change for hits like that one, since the way it was executed created a very dangerous situation. Just like the hitter needs to be responsible for not hitting a guy in the head, they should perhaps be responsible for not rotating a guy over their back leg resulting in them coming down backwards head into the ice. The hit was dangerous for the same reason a slew foot is dangerous even if the mechanics differ somewhat.

I also think the camera angle of Wall's video is a bit deceiving, Boucher comes in at an angle, his leg carries through under the player as a result of their respective vectors. There's no sweeping motion, but the result is the players legs come out from beneath him.

I think we've all watched it "15 times" + at this point, we'll likely just have to agree to disagree on what happened, failing a frame by frame analysis.

Yeah I dunno I don't think thats a slew foot. There wasn't intent. He didnt kick he connected leg and shoulder against the player. It was discussed at large in both hockey groups I'm in that are all people that have played the sport their entire lives. Not a single person believed it to be a slew foot or intentional.

I wonder if this was a player that the majority of people liked around here and how it would be perceived.

 

[Micklebot]

Yeah I dunno I don't think thats a slew foot. There wasn't intent. He didnt kick he connected leg and shoulder against the player. It was discussed at large in both hockey groups I'm in that are all people that have played the sport their entire lives. Not a single person believed it to be a slew foot or intentional.

I wonder if this was a player that the majority of people liked around here and how it would be perceived.

I don't really think it was intentional, but I do think the way he hit was dangerous. Was it a slewfoot? I guess that depends on how broadly you define slew foot, I personally think of slew foots as a bit more of a sweep to the feet, but whatever you want to call this imo it was dangerous.

We have lots of situations in hockey where the hitter is expected to ensure they can make the hit in such a way that it doesn't put the the target in a high degree of risk of injury, whether it's boarding, hits to the head, clipping ect, I personally see this type of hit as risky so I'd be fine if they added it to the list of situations where the hitter is responsible to insure the safety of the target.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

It sure looks to me like he levers the guy's body over his left leg with his left leg behind the player.

Six games is pretty substantial. Perhaps they see a trend with Boucher, as I'd call this hit pretty dirty as well.

 

[bert]

I don't really think it was intentional, but I do think the way he hit was dangerous. Was it a slewfoot? I guess that depends on how broadly you define slew foot, I personally think of slew foots as a bit more of a sweep to the feet, but whatever you want to call this imo it was dangerous.

We have lots of situations in hockey where the hitter is expected to ensure they can make the hit in such a way that it doesn't put the the target in a high degree of risk of injury, whether it's boarding, hits to the head, clipping ect, I personally see this type of hit as risky so I'd be fine if they added it to the list of situations where the hitter is responsible to insure the safety of the target.

I don't believe it had anything to do with the hit because if it was an actual slew foot he would have got way more games given the injury. It's a political thing that has everything to do with the injury. We don't have to agree. But when I look at the OHL and the suspensions they hand out and see the hit its the most logical conclusion I can come to.

 

[Flamingo]

It's suspension-worthy. Players shouldn't hit with a raised knee like that. It's the kind of play that caused Cooke to lower his skate on Karlsson's achilles tendon. It wasn't a classic slew-foot, but it certainly meets the definition.

 

[Micklebot]

I don't believe it had anything to do with the hit because if it was an actual slew foot he would have got way more games given the injury. It's a political thing that has everything to do with the injury. We don't have to agree. But when I look at the OHL and the suspensions they hand out and see the hit its the most logical conclusion I can come to.

Well I do agree the injury has a lot to do with it. Had there been no injury I don't think anyone is discussing the hit at all.

Does that mean it's a safe way to hit a guy though? Not really.

 

[JD1]

To me it just looked like the left leg was planted and he skated right through the kid. Zero intent to slew foot him. He hit him. Left leg stays planted. Boucher going forward. Kid falls back over leg. Other than the result, which was bad, there's not much wrong with that hit.

 

[BondraTime]

To me it just looked like the left leg was planted and he skated right through the kid. Zero intent to slew foot him. He hit him. Left leg stays planted. Boucher going forward. Kid falls back over leg. Other than the result, which was bad, there's not much wrong with that hit.

That’s a slew foot, intentional or not.

His left leg was 100% off the ground following through the hit through the other players legs, and is the reason that he had no ability to protect himself when falling.

It’s not the slewfoot everyone can see right off the bat where a guy literally trips a player backwards, and it’s not the intentional kind that are more blatantly egregious.

I think it was the resulting injury that led to 6 games, 1-2 is perfectly fine for that.

 

[RAFI BOMB]

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Yeah I dunno I don't think thats a slew foot. There wasn't intent. He didnt kick he connected leg and shoulder against the player. It was discussed at large in both hockey groups I'm in that are all people that have played the sport their entire lives. Not a single person believed it to be a slew foot or intentional.

I wonder if this was a player that the majority of people liked around here and how it would be perceived.

I wouldn't call it a slew foot either but ,.. the interpretation of the rule wording could be .,,,
He never intended to slew foot him or put him over his leg which he ended up doing but he never explicitly pushed him over his leg its just his leg was there and the hit happened and thats where he was influenced to fall but is not a blatant slew foot.

 

[slamigo]

Every now and then I just post in this thread to say that this kid is going to be really good. I think he’s going to be a fan favourite.

 

[L'Aveuglette]

soooo.....not scoring?

 

[Burrowsaurus]

soooo.....not scoring?

Scoring is definitely what he does this year

 

[Pinto Bean]

My expectations for Boucher are incredibly low so even this clip of some physicality get me going a little bit. I've been critical on Boucher in saying that I don't believe he is as physical as many people seem to think he is. He may throw a big hit here and there but I don't see him being tenacious on the puck, hard on the forecheck, and physically aggressive game in and game out (kind of like Ostapuchuk who does excel at this stuff)

Seeing that clip was pretty impressive. Looked super strong, physical, and in hunter mode. That's exactly what I want to see and what he needs to do more of to earn a 4th line role on the big squad in the future.

 

[Micklebot]

Scoring is definitely what he does this year

He's producing like former send draft pick Puempel. Better skater and more physical which should make him a better NHL player but I always worry about how transferable offense is when guys get far more goals than assists.