Where Do You Stand on Tyler Boucher?

[OD99]

We haven't had a 1st round draft pick create this much divisiveness in a while as typically it's all unicorns and gum drops while they develop.

Discussions have ranged from him being a terror to play against who will have other players skating scared to some suggesting a faction here consider him a bust already.

Not meant to derail the Boucher thread but to compliment it as the information here can be used to support those discussions.

Click to read more...

 

[Alf Silfversson]

I'm somewhere between 3 and 4. I'm willing to see how he does. He's still very young. AT the same time I think his skill set is merely OK.

And I think he'll probably reach his potential; I just don't think his potential ceiling is that high.

 

[Tuna99]

A Shayne Corson/ Owen Nolan type. Will be a 20 goal scorer but he will be more then that. He’s the type of player that in a 7 game series can really hurt a Kris Letang or Adam Fox.

I like the pick because it’s a player you need for a winning team and it’s an ingredient all teams need and not many have.

The Tyler Biuchers are more rare then the Nile Hoffman’s and that’s why he was drafted so high

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

Too early to tell. Not even a full year out from being drafted.

 

[BondraTime]

A pretty poor reach.

Great prospect to have in the system, a total waste of a 10th overall selection. If he was taken 45th there’d be less to be upset about (but would still be reason to be displeased)

Take the draft slot out of the equation, we’ll get a physical player the fans will love.

I think he’ll come close to his true potential, but I think his perceived potential was severely, severely overrated by the Sens.

 

[cudi]

Def didnt like the pick but life goes on. He's a Senator now so I just hope he can be a 3rd liner in the NHL. 4th liner will be disappointing but at least he's in the NHL lol.

 

[JackieDaytona]

too early, agreed, but they can't all be home run picks i guess... If he has a spot on the big team in the next ~4 years, (even if it's as a low scoring bottom 6 player that is tough as nails and unpleasant to play against) I'll consider that a success of sorts. If not, oh well, I think we have a lot of talent in the pipeline. Although it's easy to play the shoulda woulda coulda game, esp. with Sillinger looking like a big miss for the team, I think any contribution to the team from this pick would be acceptable.

 

[Hale The Villain]

Reach for a guy who should have gone late 1st based on "fit" that was stupid at the time and looks even worse right now.

Reminds me of the Leafs trading up to take Biggs in the 1st round under Burke. Was he truly the objective BPA in the mind of the scouts? Or was he the BPA of the draft eligibles that played the style of game that Leafs management wanted their team to play? I suspect the later. Drafting for fit is no better than drafting for need.

I'm pretty confident that Boucher will one day end up an NHLer. He's got the tools to play and will make an impact with his physical play, but it's difficult to project him to be any kind of significant offensive contributor when he's not even capable of a PPG in junior, where he should be dominating kids with his man strength.

Really think the Sens scouting staff got overconfident after a great 2020 draft in their ability to find off-the-board gems. They also took their emphasis on tools (size and speed mainly) over skill and IQ to the next level. I really hope the disastrous draft+1 seasons from Boucher, Ostapchuk and Roger humble them and ensure they don't continue to believe they are the smartest scouts in the room.

 

[KingAlfie11]

continue to believe they are the smartest scouts in the room.

That's your opinion, they never said that they were the smartest scouts in the room? I think the scouting staff has done a pretty damn good job let's give the kid a chance and im pretty sure when everything is said and done he will be a pretty important player for us.

 

[Hale The Villain]

That's your opinion, they never said that they were the smartest scouts in the room? I think the scouting staff has done a pretty damn good job let's give the kid a chance and im pretty sure when everything is said and done he will be a pretty important player for us.

You are correct. They have never said out loud they are the smartest scouts in the room.

When you go far off-the-board with every single pick in a draft, you better be certain the consensus is incorrect about the players you picked. Looks like the consensus may have actually been too kind to our picks.

Boucher and Ostapchuk can't even produce anywhere close to a PPG in their draft+1, which is a terrible sign for offensive potential at higher levels, and Roger looks like he should have been drafted in the late rounds. 2021 looks like a huge wasted opportunity to add talent to a team in desperate need of it.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

I don't like the wording of these choices

1. Total Bust. Define . If he plays as an NHL regular in some role tbd is he a total bust?
People have different definitions for Bust so can't go with this one.
2. Guided missile. I think this is the best choice. One of his most obvious strengths is his hard hitting. And it leaves the rest wide open good or bad
3. He was a reach . I believe he was. Not able to reach his potential. What was his potential he is trying to reach? No clarity on his potential
4. He was a reach. I believe he was . But I like his skillset .. Not particularly. Willing to give him a chance .. I am
So can't pick 4

5. I think he was a reach. He has a lot of work to do on many of his skills. Willing to give him a chance.
this choice was not available.

 

[Big Muddy]

Too early to tell. Not even a full year out from being drafted.

I have the same opinion. I'll just wait & see. I don't think I have enough info to formulate an opinion i.e., never seen him play.

 

[Union2017]

Wasn’t our current #16 also 10th overall draft pick? Will Boucher be any more successful than that? I don’t know too much about him.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

Wasn’t our current #16 also 10th overall draft pick? Will Boucher be any more successful than that? I don’t know too much about him.

I believe Watson was an 18th OA pick. Too high in his own right but not quite 10th OA.

 

[bicboi64]

Boucher was a reach considering we needed a scoring top 6 forward and guys like Lysell, Sillinger, and Coranato were still available. It was an off the board pick. I didn't agree with it at the time, but it is what it is and I hope Boucher turns into a top 6 forward for us with some physicality. We need him to do that considering how bad we are at acquiring top 6 guys so I really hope he can step in for the Sens and make a contribution when we start being more competitive

 

[Sun God Nika]

Glad 80% of HF agrees he is a reach should be higher. My thoughts are as follows.

Accept that he was a massive reach and is likely not to be a 10th overall calibre player, however just forget about him and give him every resource you can to let him develop to the best player he can be and maybe his skillsket helps complete the puzzle that gives this city a stanley cup.

 

[SlapJack]

I'm excited to see how he develops, just like every selection made by Ottawa. We fantasize about the first rounders and write the guys off drafted after 100, but he's a prospect that belongs to Ottawa and the hope is he becomes an effective player.

Was it a bad pick? Time will tell and there's a thousand comments discussing it already.

 

[PlayOn]

He was a reach but one I am and was okay with. I’d rather our scouts, who I feel do their jobs well, pick a player they love than follow consensus. If it fails so be it.

I can see why they liked him and thought he had a lot of upside. Willing to see how he develops from here and I’m rooting for him.

 

[Tap on the Ankle]

It was obviously a reach, they liked him because he fits the physical style they were trying to build the team around. While I'm not against the idea of reaching a bit to take a rarer physical player in a draft it didn't make sense to do it in the Sens position. If this was a playoff team drafting ~20th overall and reaching for a physical player they liked, sure, whatever. Doing it with your 10th overall when your rebuild is far from complete is just nonsense. No need to be getting fancy at the draft when the team has barely sniffed outside the bottom 5 the last few years. Just take the best players, trades and coaching will figure out the rest.

Hoping Boucher can be an NHLer someday, I've heard Deslauriers as a comparable and that seems like a reasonable expectation given his post-draft trajectory so far.

I think the main disappointing thing about it is that drafting was supposed to be the one thing this management group was decent at and 2021 is looking like a total whiff with some questionable reaches in the first and second round. This rebuild cannot afford another draft like that this summer.

 

[OD99]

I don't like the wording of these choices

1. Total Bust. Define . If he plays as an NHL regular in some role tbd is he a total bust?
People have different definitions for Bust so can't go with this one.
2. Guided missile. I think this is the best choice. One of his most obvious strengths is his hard hitting. And it leaves the rest wide open good or bad
3. He was a reach . I believe he was. Not able to reach his potential. What was his potential he is trying to reach? No clarity on his potential
4. He was a reach. I believe he was . But I like his skillset .. Not particularly. Willing to give him a chance .. I am
So can't pick 4

5. I think he was a reach. He has a lot of work to do on many of his skills. Willing to give him a chance.
this choice was not available.

I knew there would be at least one comment like this LOL!

The answers would be pretty long and no way to create a poll that takes in to consideration all of the definitions.

1. Whatever a bust means to you
2. Lots of people using physicality to minimize his poor offensive production and predicting that alone will make him a key piece of the team and/or lead to more offence.
3. Whatever potential you may have thought at first blush when learning about him
4. If you don't like his skillset you are probably more in the #3 camp IMO but his skills that were highlighted were hitting / skating / shot

 

[dumbdick]

I expect a 3rd liner with a fairly unique skillset. A roleplayer who helps you win but has a very low ceiling on his offensive production.

 

[PoutineSp00nZ]

Where's the hoping he exceeds expectations option?

 

[cudi]

Where's the hoping he exceeds expectations option?

everyone hopes that lol.

 

[SensontheRush]

I really feel like Boucher is a guy you appreciate if you actually watch the player, so arguing with the the stat watchers can be frustrating, even though I know I am guilty of this as well.

Watching the guy, I can see why he was reached on at 10, even if it was a reach.

 

[OD99]

Where's the hoping he exceeds expectations option?

What cudi said but that is #4 IMO for purposes of the poll.