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

[Bileur]

So while Boucher is still 20 years old this is being categorized as a disaster because cole Sillinger is in the nhl and has 1 goal in 27 games???????

I would have taken Lucius but all I’m saying is hold on here let’s not go crazy. Again he’s 20 years old and hasn’t played yet. Sure the injuries are a problem and might derail his career but we don’t KNOW that yet.

The facts at this point are, he is not a bust and he still has potential to make the team.

At this point it is indisputable that Boucher is an unmitigated disaster of a pick. It’s not even relevant who fans would have preferred to take.

The sens top 10 pick has played less than one season worth of games in 2.5 years. That’s a disaster no matter how you cut it. It would be a brutal second round pick at this point.

I hope he can put it together. I really do. I was hoping the sens would draft him (not that high but he was definitely a target) but it really hasn’t worked out at all so far.

 

[JD1]

Given the lack of news on what was reported as a minor groin pull, has anyone considered he has mental health issues? I have no reason to believe that is the case but he is at an age where they tend to appear

 

[Golden_Jet]

This guy has vanished off the face of the earth. No longer on the BSens injury report, no updates from the team, nothing new from reporters... his google title now says "Former ice hockey player"

I was thinking the other day and there's a case to be made that this was one of the worst draft selections in NHL history. Many will point to Yakupov/Bruins 2015 but 90% of teams would've taken Yak #1 and Debrusk/Zboril were projected mid/late first by most. (Senyshyn was a brutal pick but #15 is much different than top 10.

This guy was ranked in the 3rd round by many publications and the pick was universally dunked on. His post draft career literally could not be going any worse.

I feel sorry for all the unnecessary attention he's gotten, but this was one of the worst picks in NHL history and you can't convince me otherwise.

McKenzie’s scouts list had him late first, I find he’s usually the most accurate at the draft.

 

[Xspyrit]

Don't sleep on Tyler Boucher??

I feel like we are now in a full-on coma when it comes to this guy.
He has played a grand total of 67 games in his last 5 years of his hockey.

I know that includes Covid and that he has had a bunch of injuries but I would doubt you could find another NHL prospect his age that has played that little.

I am trying to remain optimistic about his future with the team but he is starting to make Logan Brown look a better 1st draft pick and that is not at all good.

Nicholas Robertson is an ironman in comparison

 

[PlayersLtd]

Given the lack of news on what was reported as a minor groin pull, has anyone considered he has mental health issues? I have no reason to believe that is the case but he is at an age where they tend to appear

No reason to believe other than the fact that his mental health issues are pretty well documented in the past. Around the time of his move to the 67's he was very outspoken about his struggles at BU, his injuries and with how much he needed to isolate during COVID.

It could 100% be something related to that.

It was a bad pick but it's being magnified by his injuries since which are more or less independent of the pick itself. Other than any injury proneness that may have or should have been known when the pick was made, you obviously can't measure the pick itself by the injuries he has suffered since. And yeah, let's not discount the fact that this could be mental health related.

 

[Ice-Tray]

I mean we could probably leave the kid be at this point.

Everyone and their dog has had their say and there is no new news.

I really hope the kid stays far away from social media.

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

This whole thing is absolutely bizarre. The team should just come out and tell the fans what's going on with his status.

Why?

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

Dude's a bigger bust than Filatov.

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

They at least played NHL games. dude can’t even play in the AHL.

 

[TkachukMyAho]

It's really confusing. I mean not every high pick works out and it's obviously not Boucher fault if he can't cut it, he didn't put a gun to the head and force to be selected where he was.

What's interesting is that it's almost as if we're being forced to forget that our favorite team drafted this guy where he was picked. No updates, no mentions...it really does seem like something behind the scenes. Hope he's ok personally, if he had slipped to 2nd or 3rd round he wouldn't have anywhere near this kind of scrutiny.

 

[h2]

Why?

Why not? There's no point in secrecy regarding an injury from September.

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

Why not? There's no point in secrecy regarding an injury from September.

Groin injury… what more does the fans need to know?

 

[h2]

Groin injury… what more does the fans need to know?

Literally anything in addition to that lol..

Is there actual progress? Did something else get injured?

 

[Loach]

Literally anything in addition to that lol..

Is there actual progress? Did something else get injured?

This org used to leak bs info everyday for years. That doesn't seem to happen anymore. I like it.

 

[Dionysus]

This org used to leak bs info everyday for years. That doesn't seem to happen anymore. I like it.

Agreed, the old regime was full of holes. Things got out all different ways. Disgruntled and apathetic employees, as well as lots of spin from Dorion.

As for Boucher, looks like a write-off at this point. Will be pleasantly surprised if he turns into a bottom 6 forward.

 

[h2]

This org used to leak bs info everyday for years. That doesn't seem to happen anymore. I like it.

I agree with that, however I think there's an acceptable compromise between nothing at all and the previous regime as you described.

Even a random update about Boucher like in mid November along the lines "Yeah, he's still f***ed up, but he's healing slowly" would suffice. There's been nothing on his status.

 

[Agent Zuuuub]

must be pretty serious injury with long term implications if they are taking so much time, or he might just retire, whatever

could have happened to anyone

 

[GCK]

Guys let’s just lock up the Boucher thread. Hopefully he gets the help he needs and gets his career back on track.

 

[Sun God Nika]

I hate to say it but the quietness and the frequency of the injuries mean he is probably contemplating if he wants to continue.

 

[HSF]

This org used to leak bs info everyday for years. That doesn't seem to happen anymore. I like it.

not sure how an injury update is considered a 'leak'

Its logical to give the public an update on injuries esp for a high profile player

 

[Loach]

not sure how an injury update is considered a 'leak'

Its logical to give the public an update on injuries esp for a high profile player

Never said it was a leak. I was implying that because of the way things used to be, that people are accustomed to all sort of stuff from the org. Maybe they need to wait? Maybe there are other things going on? If they said there is no update, would that be good? You would be happy with No comment? HSF, The Ottawa Senators inform you that Boucher, Tyler has ebola and a glutten intolerance.

 

[Senator Stanley]

I mean we could probably leave the kid be at this point.

Everyone and their dog has had their say and there is no new news.

I really hope the kid stays far away from social media.

I don't disagree, but one of the bizarre parts of the Tyler Boucher story is that he invited so much unnecessary attention on himself. I can't remember the last prospect who did so many radio hits and podcasts.

 

[Ice-Tray]

I don't disagree, but one of the bizarre parts of the Tyler Boucher story is that he invited so much unnecessary attention on himself. I can't remember the last prospect who did so many radio hits and podcasts.

Sure, but was he seeking them out or inviting interviews, or was he being sought out because he was our first round pick.

Was he interviewed more? Maybe he was sought out more than usual due to the reach, and the curiosity folks had about a guy who most thought didn’t merit being chosen that high. I don’t really know, but he doesn’t come across like a kid who has been seeking the limelight, probably enjoyed it at the start though, but now? Very doubtful as most posts about him are negative.

Anyways, it’s a super quiet situation that lends belief that there is either more to the story, or the team is full blackout while he gets his game sorted. Theses guys are young with a ton of pressure, hope the kid is ok regardless.

 

[Tundraman]

They might have been looking for a Wilson type physical player. There is a risk when you pick a guy so high who makes it because he's bigger than most of his junior peers. He was probably always going to be a 3rd or 4th line guy. I don't know why they'd pick a guy like that as a top 10 without it being a stretch. Unfortunately constant injuries have made all that a moot point looks like we'll never know who was right.

 

[ottawah]

Pretty ignorant to award the worst pick in history to someone who has been hampered by injury. If that's fair than Nolan Patrick was obviously a way worse pick than Boucher. End of argument.

Patrick was expected to go top 3, so its not a bad pick, its just a pick that did not work out, largely due to injuries. That cannot be predicted with much accuracy, although injury history with Patrick was present, and kept him from being drafted #1.

Boucher was, to my knowledge, the biggest reach ever in the top 10. Reaches in the draft very seldom work out, and doing it in the top 10? That makes it such a bad pick because there is no excuse for it. Its very hard to predict injuries, but its very easy to predict players ranked mid second round stand a 50% chance of having much of an NHL career.

Thats on management though, not on Boucher. Boucher does not make the pick, management does. I'd base the rating of a pick based on information available at the time and how it works out, injuries aside. Its not like Boucher was setting the world on fire before injuries set in. Before the inuries his body of work was not too far off of a mid second round pick. Nothing before the draft screamed top 10, nothing after the draft and before injuries screamed top 10. It was simply a bad move by management.


I also believe if Boucher would have been drafted in the mid second, which was a relative consensuses position, he would not have been under nearly as much pressure as he has been and quite honestly may be in a better position today. He is carrying unwarranted expectations that only had a minuscule chance of being realized and that really has to drain a player mentally. I think he'd be seen in a much different light here if he was a second round pick, much like Ostaphuk. Personally I've generally evaluated him as I would any mid second rounder with some hope (50%) that after 4-6 years could be a useful bottom six player.


This pick reminds me so much of the Reinhart pick by NYI in 2012. Go far off board at #4 (consensus rank ~12) to grab an offensively limited player (by NHL standards) because he fit a size profile/style they wanted.