CAMP: Bouchard the 'X-Factor' on Oilers blueline

EDMONTON, AB - It's still early days here at Oilers Training Camp, but Head Coach Dave Tippett is already heaping praise and expressing his high hopes for defenceman Evan Bouchard this season.
Of all the promise on a new-look Oilers blueline assembled for the 2021-22 NHL campaign, the bench boss has the 22-year-old penciled in to be a major contributor towards the club's defensive success this season after waiting for his opportunity to break through in an Oilers uniform.
"Everybody wants Duncan Keith to do well, Cody Ceci to do well, but I think the key to our blueline this year is Evan Bouchard," Tippett affirmed.
"I think he's going to be a really good player for us, I think he'll continue to improve, and to me he's the 'X-Factor' for our blueline to come out and say, 'Hey, we're going to be better.'"

The Oakville, Ont. product was taken by the Oilers 10th overall at the 2018 NHL Draft for his all-around play and high potential as a defencemen capable of moving the puck and putting up points that were put on display in his outstanding 87-point performance in 67 games for the OHL's London Knights four seasons ago.
Since then, Bouchard has percolated through a seven-game introduction to NHL game action the following year, a standout AHL playoff performance and full season with the Bakersfield Condors, and a productive stint overseas with Sodertaljë SK in Sweden's HockeyAllsvenskan.
Bouchard returned to Edmonton in '20-21 and soaked up all he could from his first full NHL season despite only suiting up for 14 games of the shortened 56-game schedule, posting two goals and three assists.
"You really kind of have to take it as a learning experience," Bouchard said. "I was here and got to practice with the guys and play some games. You get to see their work ethic, and I really take that as a positive. You see the hard work and stuff that goes into it and you want to make sure you're not in that position again.
"I worked hard this summer and I'm just trying to find my way into the lineup."

Bouchard trained in close quarters with teammate Darnell Nurse over the offseason on smaller ice surfaces improving in the little areas of the game, including quick feet and explosive acceleration.
Tippett has already seen the young defencemen show a willingness to accept the big assignments by asking to take on some of the club's best talents in battle drills at Training Camp, which ramped up Thursday with its first on-ice sessions.
"You've got Connor McDavid, arguably the best player in the world, and two very good power forwards (Zach Hyman and Jesse Puljujarvi)," Tippett said. "The thing I liked about that is (Slater) Koekkoek and Bouchard, every battle drill they went into, they wanted to go against them. Every one.
"Bouch, a young player like that, he might as well go against the best, right? It speaks volumes about them, and Bouch did well today. That's a good sign."

The potential of Bouchard playing on the Oilers penalty kill in '21-22 is boosted from his time spent around the team last year watching plenty of games and sitting in on special teams video sessions.
"I've done it in the past and I really got to watch a lot this year," he said. "So getting the opportunity to go over clips, you really want to make the most of it. Playing on the penalty kill is a huge responsibility, and if they count on you to do that, it's an honour. I'd love to be able to do it."
To Tippett, young players spending plenty of time in the minors and rising through the ranks to the NHL squad is the sign of healthy organizational depth -- something his lineup will definitely not be short of when the puck drops on the regular season in October.
"Some of that homegrown staff has really come to fruition for us. It's made us a deeper team," he said. "You add some good players through Free Agency, but your young players integrating into your lineup and having an impact is how you continue to get better."