Bouchard has ‘got it all’ for Oilers, Coffey says

EDMONTON -- Evan Bouchard has not seen many clips of Paul Coffey skating up the ice past opponents and scoring during his Stanley Cup championship years with the Edmonton Oilers but has heard about them from the Hall of Fame defenseman himself.

“He’s told me about it,” Bouchard said. “He thinks anybody can do that, but it’s obviously not the case anymore in today’s game unless you’re a really special player.”

Bouchard has a relationship with Coffey dating back to his days with London of the Ontario Hockey League after he was selected by the Oilers in the first round (No. 10) of the 2018 NHL Draft. Coffey was a skills coach with the Oilers at the time, working with prospect defenseman. He is now an assistant to coach Kris Knoblauch, working with Bouchard and the rest of the Oilers defense on a daily basis.

Edmonton continues its three-game road trip in the New York area Thursday against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center (7:30 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+, SNW).

“My relationship with Paul is great; he’s been helping me out since I first got drafted here,” Bouchard said. “Behind the bench, he’s really positive. He’s been harping on every single one of us on the back end to make plays, and I think it’s given us a lot more confidence to do that and I think it’s working out for us.”

In London, Bouchard was an offensive defenseman; he had 87 points (25 goals, 62 assists) in 67 games in his final season of junior hockey in 2017-18.

Now 24, Bouchard is starting to show that prowess in the NHL.

He has 32 points (eight goals, 24 assists) in 29 games this season and had a 13-game point streak, (20 points; five goals, 15 assists) from Nov. 15 to Dec. 14. Coffey is the only other Oilers defenseman to have a point streak of more than 13 games; his 28-game run, accomplished with Edmonton during the 1985-86 season, is an NHL record among defensemen.

“My expectations for a 10th overall pick is that I expect him to be a good player,” Coffey said. “We drafted ‘Bouch’ out of London, I went down and skated with him before turning pro, and he’s got it all.”

Bouchard has a booming shot from the blue line, which Oilers fans have nicknamed the ‘Bouch Bomb.’ He also has exceptional offensive instincts and can pass the puck extremely well. Bouchard’s game has excelled since Knoblauch and Coffey took over for Jay Woodcroft and assistant Dave Manson, who were fired Nov. 12 after the Oilers got off to a 3-9-1 start.

“I told him when I took over that he can’t show up 10 minutes into a game; we need him right from the start, and he’s done that,” Coffey said. “His talented is unlimited and some of the stuff he does you can’t teach. You just have to let him go, let him play, and he’s taken it upon himself. It [has] nothing to do with me. He’s a great player and he’s only going to get better.”

Bouchard is in his fourth full season with Edmonton and is on pace to potentially reach 90 points. During his storied 21-year playing career (1980-2001), Coffey had five 100-point seasons and is second to Bobby Orr for the highest-scoring season by a defenseman. Coffey had 138 points (48 goals, 90 assists) for the Oilers in 1985-86; Orr had 139 points (37 goals, 102 assists) with the Boston Bruins in 1970-71.

Coffey owns the top six highest scoring seasons by an Oilers defenseman. Risto Siltanen has the seventh with 63 points (15 goals, 48 assists) in 63 games for Edmonton in 1981-82.

“I think it comes down to team success; everyone is playing the right way,” Bouchard said. “I think when the team is doing well, it makes it a lot easier on individuals and individuals start getting points, and luckily for me that’s what’s happening right now.”

The Oilers (13-15-1) were able to climb out of an early hole in the Western Conference standings on the strength of an eight-game winning streak. They lost the last two of a six-game homestand before embarking on a three-game road trip to play the New York Islanders, Devils and New York Rangers prior to the holiday break.

Edmonton lost 3-1 at the Islanders on Tuesday. Bouchard had two shots on goal in 27:32 of ice time but was held off the score sheet.

“We knew the team we were; we weren’t playing to our potential at the beginning of the year and we dug ourselves a pretty big hole, but we find our way to get out of it,” Bouchard said. “There is still a lot more to do, a lot more hockey to play. We’re just looking to keep building on what we’re doing. We hit a point that we don’t want to get back to. We know our capabilities. We know the potential we have in here and we’re just looking to keep building on that.”

As the season progresses, Bouchard is looking to keep improving his game at both ends of the ice. Early in the season, he was struggling defensively and was minus-8 just eight games in.

“He was never poor defensively, he just needed a little bit of awareness,” Coffey said. “What he has you can’t teach, and the defensive side is just commitment, a little more focus now. He’s a smart player, he got a great partner in (Mattias) Ekholm; they communicate well on the bench and on the ice, and I expect them to get better. He’ll be fun to watch.”