Caniac:
You have a point about nature and conditioning BUT I disagree that they were incompentant about his conditioning when they took him out of the Q. They knew what they were doing.
Bouchard has yet to really put any bulk on his frame and I would doubt he would do that in the QMJHL. He needs muscle more than anything and it takes a while for muscle to grow on the body of a gangly 19-20 year old that is the size of a midget :lol
in the league.
Secondly, he wouldn't have been in the AHL last year since he is only 19.
Thirdly, what do you expect from Bouchard when he's playing with guys like Brunette, Johnson, Dowd (now gone), Zholtok? A ton of points? Bouchard picked up his game when the Wild moved players and started playing him with younger players that could actually SCORE.
Fourthly, the Wild are letting Bouchard develop...He hasn't played exactly a full year of hockey yet and they are trying to put some meat on his body.
Fifth, you got to look at the Wild and their view of the CHL. They let Schultz return after he had some solid seasons but when he played after camp and everything, his production was slighted. They didn't want to go this route with Bouchard and have his development in the Q hit a bump if he wasn't going to be really challenged.
How many more points do you think Bouchard would've put up in the Q? 180? 200? If he isn't being challenged, move him where he is and condition him. That's what the Wild did when they brought him into the NHL. They didn't have him play every day, they had him work out, had him watch tapes...