Detroit Red Wings 2018 draft prospect: Evan Bouchard

The London Knights Evan Bouchard is a big, skilled, right shot defenseman. He would be an excellent addition to the Detroit Red Wings prospect pool.

Evan Bouchard is a 6’2″ 193 lb defenseman with elite playmaking skills and a right shot. There have been plenty of draft years where he would have been the top defensive prospect. The Detroit Red Wings could use a talent injection on the right side of their defense. Frankly, most teams in the NHL could use another offensively gifted right shot defenseman. Those that don’t need this kind of player have a tendency to covet them because of their trade value anyway. Nashville, for example, has parlayed a plethora of right shot defensemen into P.K. Subban and Ryan Johansen a couple seasons ago. The Carolina Hurricanes will potentially move on from Justin Faulk because they’ve invested heavily in this kind of player and can replace him. More is always better when it comes to this variety of prospect.

Bouchard a smart player with great vision on the ice. His passes are tape to tape masterpieces, which makes his vision even more valuable getting the puck down the ice quickly and effectively. This trait is most noticeable when there are fewer players on the ice. His passes give the player receiving them an opportunity to do something with the puck immediately. They do not fumble with a poor puck location before they can shoot or make a second pass. Give Bouchard any room to thread the needle on the power play and he’s going to make good things happen. Bouchard’s slap shot is every bit as dangerous as his passing. It is both powerful and accurate. He has a knack for getting the puck through traffic. He keeps the puck low which gives other skaters the opportunity for tip-ins and rebounds.

In his own zone, Bouchard is aggressive and physical in his efforts to get the puck back. He uses his reach effectively to keep opponents on the perimeter. His tendency to lose his own relative location occasionally will be a problem until he remedies it. His aggressiveness likely needs to be reined in a bit before he can be a net positive player at the NHL level. He has a slow first step as well, which will cause him to be walked by bursty and agile forwards coming out of battles. He needs to do some work on his initial footspeed.

Next: Grading the Detroit Lions 2014 draft

Bouchard had a solid draft year despite playing on a London Knights team that is in the middle of a reload. He scored 25 goals, and 87 points in 67 games. He also had six playoff points in four games in a losing effort during the OHL playoffs. Bouchard would be a solid draft pick at number six for the Red Wings.