BLOG: Bouchard aims to take bigger steps into elite defenceman category

EDMONTON, AB – No. 2 for your Edmonton Oilers is looking to be the No. 1 defenceman in the League this season, and it will take a fast start on multiple levels for both Evan and Edmonton to help make it happen.

Coming off a longer summer and a career season, Evan Bouchard is hoping to find the inside track quickly on becoming an even more elite defenceman this campaign by getting through all his checklists over a shorter Training Camp – one that'll last less than two weeks and only four preseason games after changes were made to the NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

 Time will be of the essence for Bouchard & the Oilers to make the most of the time available to prepare for Opening Night on Sept. 29 against the Canucks, wanting to fully familiarize themselves in a new system under Head Coach Mike Babcock and get their individual games in order.

How that’s going to go? Bouchard said he doesn't have an answer yet, but he knows its success will in large part come down to how well they're able to execute their attack plan over Training Camp these next two weeks and four exhibition tune-ups.

“I'll let you know when Camp's done,” Bouchard said, speaking on Wednesday at Rogers Place. “It's my first time doing it, but it makes practices that much more important. They'll be that much more intense. It really gets you ready. When you do play in those couple games, it's going to be almost like regular season games. You’ve got to treat them like that.”

That process is still in its early stages for the Oilers, and it remains to be seen how things will play out and begin to take shape over the coming days of Training Camp. But for Bouchard, he’s looking to make even bigger strides in 2026-27 by using the extra rest available from a longer summer during a shorter but more intense Camp.

“No one ever wants to have a lot of time off, but a little bit of a blessing in disguise for us,” Bouchard said. “But I feel good, the body feels good, rested, and ready to get the season going.  That extra month or two to rest really makes you reflect on how much you miss the game and want to get back at it.  So I think that's going to be a big positive for us.

“For me, it's kind of a lot of the same things, but a lot of improvement as well in keeping the puck out of the net. When I'm out there, I think the offence will come, but most importantly, focus on the defensive side things first.”

Bouchard locked himself into elite status among the NHL’s blueliners last season with a 95-point season to lead all defencemen, finishing fourth in the Norris Trophy vote, but there’s still more work that the Oakville, ON product feels he needs to improve on the defensive side to go up another tier into the League’s most well-rounded rear guards.

Bouchard wants to minimize the mistakes in his game by focusing on the simple play; avoiding the high-risk mistakes that could end up in the back of his own team’s net while not compromising on the offence that’s made him into one of the League’s best.

“Definitely work to do. There's always work to do,” Bouchard said. “I think a lot of it's not letting those mistakes pile up – making the simple play, not always going for the home run play – and I think I was caught doing that quite a bit last year.  So I think if you can not dumb it down, but simplify a little bit, it can help things.”

Bouchard will look to start on the right note in Training Camp under a revamped coaching staff led by Mike Babcock, who's coached Hall of Fame defencemen Niklas Lidstrom, Chris Chelios and others like Scott Niedermayer, Shea Weber and Duncan Keith at the Olympics for Team Canada.

Babcock has a direct, honest approach with his players about his expectations and knows how to get the best out of his teams, and Bouchard is excited to learn from his experience in order to push even further into the elite conversation.

As an extra bonus, Bouchard already has a strong working relationship with Associate Coach D.J. Smith from this past June, when the two were together with Team Canada at the 2026 World Championship in Switzerland.

"So far, so good," Bouchard said of working with Babcock & Smith. You know what you're getting with Babs. He's very direct. We're going to be very organized. He doesn't beat around the bush either, so I think that's a good thing to have in a coach."

"I think he made it clear he doesn't want to change things with my game, but he wants to improve things, and I think that's a very fair thing. Having been around the league for a long time, I want to be coached by someone like that. I want someone who tells me what they think, and I think he'll do that with the rest of the group and me."