With rugged winger Boucher, Senators look to replicate success of Tkachuk

The Ottawa Senators have never been afraid to defy convention on draft night.

Remember when they were questioned for taking Brady Tkachuk fourth overall when he’d only scored eight goals at Boston University?

That pick, in 2018, worked out just fine, thank you.

The Sens hope the same will be said of their 2021 pick, when they went off the board to select right winger Tyler Boucher at 10th overall. Boucher, ranked 25th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, is a Tom Wilson-type, a highly aggressive and powerfully built forward from Haddonfield, N.J.

Boucher played for the U18 National Team Development Program this season and was limited to 12 games due to a case of COVID-19 and a knee injury, which didn’t help his draft rank. He did produce six goals and five assists in those 12 games.

With the NTDP U17 program in 2019-20, Boucher earned a name for himself by nearly reaching the century mark in penalty minutes (98) in 43 games played. The six-foot-one, 205-pound Boucher can score a bit, too. He produced 26 points in those 43 games, including nine goals.

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The other thing about that name?

Boucher is the son of longtime NHL goaltender Brian Boucher, now an ESPN analyst. Ottawa loves drafting players with NHL bloodlines.

The 18-year-old is a Boston University commit for the fall. No doubt, the Senators brass imagine the possibilities of Tkachuk — also a BU player — on one wing and Boucher on the other, making life miserable for playoff opponents down the road.

“For us, he’s a power forward,” said Senators general manager Pierre Dorion. “He’s a guy with great speed. He uses his body, but one of the things he probably does best is his ability to finish — score goals from outside the dots, but also from close to the net, inside the paint.”

Dorion saw three of Boucher’s games live and others on video, which was a heavily used method of scouting during this season of COVID-19.

“I was thoroughly impressed,” Dorion said. “He never took a shift off. Always moving his feet, always involved. What impressed me the most is, when he had the puck, you saw that he had the knack to go to the net and try to score.”

NHLentrydraft.com had Boucher listed among their “five under the radar American picks” for the 2021 draft, and noted Boucher’s developing scoring touch.

It was unfortunate for Boucher — but perhaps a blessing in disguise for Ottawa eyeing this sleeper pick — that injuries kept Boucher out of the World U18 showcase this year, which became a key tournament for scouts desperate to see prospects in action.

While Boucher said he had a “decent feeling” that the Senators might pick him at 10, he wasn’t certain.

“I kind of honestly had no idea,” Boucher said via Zoom Friday night. “My dad winked at me and I was kind of confused and then, I don’t know, they just said my name and I kind of blacked out from there.”

Boucher doesn’t mind the Tom Wilson comparisons.

And Senators head coach D.J. Smith won’t mind if Boucher is as physical as Wilson (but perhaps a little less reckless).

“I’m my own player, but I think we play the same in that aspect — we’re both kind of throwback players, very aggressive power forwards,” Boucher said. “Just playing with an edge, but also able to score goals. I think I’ve got a pretty dangerous shot. And just making plays and being hard and heavy and powerful on pucks.”

Asked why he didn’t follow his father’s path to become a goalie, Boucher replied he didn’t think his mom, Melissa, could have handled that: “I think she had enough trauma.”

Boucher missed several weeks of action due to a case of COVID-19 and that was followed by an MCL sprain in early April that required a scope.

“I did get down on myself at times,” he told NHL.com prior to the draft. “But I believe everything happens for a reason.”

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On the Zoom call, after being selected in the top-10 of the draft, Boucher was able to look back on his challenging year with an air of relief.

“There were a lot of ups and downs but I think I learned from it,” he said. “I feel great, my knee is 100 per cent and I’ve been back on the ice and in the weight room for a while.”

Physically, Boucher feels he is ready to step into the NHL soon.

“I’m a pretty big boy,” he says, calmly.

Realistically, he could probably use at least a year of development in Division 1 hockey to fine tune his game, especially considering how many games he missed this season.

“Whatever they need me to do, is what I will do,” Boucher said. “Whenever they feel I’m ready, that’s when I’ll come in — try to make that team and make an impact.”

Boucher agrees his style of play is well suited to NHL playoff hockey and noted that the Tampa Bay Lightning had grit on all four lines.

Boucher has spoken with Tkachuk and Senators centre Josh Norris numerous times, through their USA hockey connection. He says he loved watching the Senators in the days of Erik Karlsson.

As the dust settles on their first selection of 2021, the Senators brain trust will gather again on Saturday to make the balance of their picks, at a faster pace, as Rounds 2-7 are held.

The Senators do not have picks in Rounds 4 or 5 but — barring a last minute trade — start the day with two in Round 2 (at 39 and 42), one in Round 3 (74) and one each in Round 6 (170) and Round 7 (202).