Evan Bouchard is not a bad hockey player. But he’s playing like a terrible one right now. A dejected Bouchard was well aware that his turnovers are terrible and are causing the Edmonton Oilers to lose hockey games. A dejected Bouchard spoke to the media on Thursday after another poor performance, saying: “That definitely needs to be cleared up, but playing harder will have to be something I do.” He added that he knows it’s not okay to make such glaring mistakes in Game 11. “You just have to find a way to fight through it.”
The problem for the Oilers is that they’ve tried to make him fight through it, and that doesn’t seem to be working.
He hasn’t been benched, healthily scratched, taken out of the power play or punished in any way for the same turnovers and mistakes he coughs up almost every night. That has to change. “If you want to be a leader, you’re not going to be able to please everyone. You have to hold people accountable, even when you have a moment when you feel uncomfortable.” – Kobe Bryant
This is something head coach Kris Knoblauch will have to embrace with Bouchard. It’s time to hold the defender accountable because he seems unable to get out of these problems on his own.
The options available when it comes to Bouchard
Bouchard needs to learn to handle the puck better. He can’t force plays even if he has the skill to make them. He needs to read and respond better to his surroundings and find a way to play the same style of hockey in October as he did in June.
And if he can’t find that level of play on his own, the Oilers will have to force it out of him.
That leaves a few options. Put him on the couch first. The challenge is that the time to send that message has passed. There have been at least two games where Bouchard has been the worst player on the ice for either team, and he hasn’t been hit yet. In fact, his minutes have increased many times. To bench him, you have to let him make another terrible mistake and then hold him accountable. What’s the point if the message needs to be sent now?
Second, give him a healthy scratch. The Oilers probably won’t either. Taking Bouchard out of a game completely hurts the team. It’s one thing to miss a few shifts or even a period. It’s another to take your best defenseman (and yes, he is their best defenseman) off the ice for an entire game.
Finally, revoke his power play privileges. This is perhaps the best and most logical move of the three. Players absolutely hate it when their juice minutes suddenly disappear. What makes Bouchard so dangerous is capitalizing on the man advantage, where services must be earned and not given. If he’s suddenly told he can’t play on the power play again until his 5-on-5 play warrants his return there, Bouchard will do whatever he can to earn that golden ticket back.
For the Oilers, in the meantime, putting Jake Walman there doesn’t hurt Edmonton as much as the other two options might. Walman has a bullet shot, is willing to use it and has the skills to be effective with Edmonton’s best weapons. Forcing Bouchard to watch Walman’s point totals rise while he plays his winnings after much harder minutes is the wake-up call he may need.
Knoblauch said: “We have to hold all of our players accountable. There’s a fine line when it comes to mistakes that happen periodically… if there’s an accumulation of mistakes that cost us on a regular basis, then yes, we have to hold everyone accountable.” Time to reinforce those words, coach. Failing to do so could set Bouchard’s season back even further.
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