OHL: Evan Bouchard (London – 2018 Draft Eligible)

Evan Bouchard snuck into the first round in our McKeen's December rankings at #28. He did not hurt his standing after being named OHL defenseman of the month with the London Knights producing 16 points in 11 games. He currently leads all OHL defensemen in scoring with 49 points in 40 games (11th overall). Brock Otten provides a detailed report below and suggests Bouchard could push into the top 15 for the 2018 NHL draft.

A note on the 20-80 scale used below. We look at five attributes (skating, shooting, puck skills, hockey IQ and physicality) for skaters and six for goalies (athleticism/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, technique/style, rebound control and puck handling). Each individual attribute is graded along the 20-80 scales, which includes half-grades. The idea is that a projection of 50 in a given attribute meant that our observer believed that the player could get to roughly NHL average at that attribute at maturity.

Evan Bouchard of the London Knights. Photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images

Skating: Bouchard is a highly athletic defender who displays excellent overall mobility as an offensive defender. Very smooth moving backwards and laterally, and he uses this agility to be a solid positional and stick checking defender. He also uses this above average lateral mobility to be a terrific powerplay QB, adept at quick changes of direction to open up lanes to utilize his big point shot. Where Bouchard lacks is in his explosiveness as a puck rusher. His top end speed is fine, but his lack of overall quickness does make one wonder whether his offensive abilities translate as well at 5 on 5 at the next level. Grade: 55

Shot: This is easily one of Bouchard’s biggest weapons. As I write this, he leads the league in shots by defenders and leads his team (London) in shots. He possesses both an accurate slapshot which he employs on the powerplay, and a quick and deceiving wrister which he uses when jumping up in the rush or sneaking behind coverages. Is great at using his athleticism to open up shooting lanes and he is exceptionally aggressive at taking his shots when the opportunity presents itself. That said, he is not irresponsible about getting his shots either. Has great vision on the powerplay and manages to get his shots through and picks the right time to shoot and when to demonstrate reserve and patience. Grade: 60

Skills: As one of the OHL’s elite offensive defenders and puck movers, it should come as no surprise that Bouchard possesses great skill with the puck. Very calm under pressure of the forecheck and rarely turns the puck over. His puck possession ability cutting through the neutral zone is excellent, as he uses his size to shield the puck the from stick checks. That said, a lot of his offensive production comes from his vision, patience, and poise with the puck, and less from “razzle, dazzle” (as you might expect from a guy like Ryan Merkley). Not the type to routinely beat defenders with one on one moves, instead picking apart gaps in defenses with his mind. Grade: 55

Smarts: To go with his shot, this is Bouchard’s bread and butter. He is an extremely intelligent two-way defender who has transformed himself from being a gangly offensive blueliner in his first year, to becoming a dominant two-way minutes eater in his third OHL season. Defensively, his positioning is excellent. You rarely see him beat one on one off the rush, or to loose pucks. Anticipation is terrific. Offensively, he has come a really long way to limit his bad pinches, finding gaps in zone coverage and exploiting them to create scoring chances. He rarely turns the puck over and has great vision and patience on the point of the powerplay. On top of it all, few defenders in the OHL make as good of a first pass as Bouchard. Critical to London’s offense because of how quickly he starts the breakout. Grade: 60

Physicality: Bouchard was drafted into the OHL at just over 165lbs, but has added almost 30lbs to his frame in his three OHL seasons. This is something that has been crucial to his development at both ends. He now possesses the strength necessary to both fight off checks cutting through the neutral zone and to shield the puck from forecheckers when looking to start the breakout from his own end. Defensively, his focus has improved greatly since entering the league, but he remains a player who relies on his head and his athleticism to defend, as opposed to brawn. At the OHL level, he wins loose puck battles and is able to tie up opposing forwards by leaning on his experience and excellent anticipation. But at the NHL level, he will need to become more aggressive in using his 6-2” frame to pin and outbody the opposition below the hash marks. We have seen improvements in this area, but more will be required. Grade: 50

Summary: Evan Bouchard has developed into one of the OHL’s elite defenders and that is why he is garnering early consideration for a top 15 selection at this year’s NHL entry draft. He routinely plays half the game (if not more) for London. At the very least, he profiles as an excellent powerplay QB at the NHL level, but the improvements made to his defensive game lead me to believe that he could one day be a top three defender on an NHL team. He has passed Ryan Merkley (for me) as the OHL’s top rated blueliner available for 2018.

Overall Future Projection (OFP): 56.5