When Evan Bouchard scored his first career NHL goal in a 4-1 Oilers win over the Washington Capitals at Rogers Place on October 25th, 2018, there is virtually no chance that the tenth overall pick in the 2018 draft thought it would be his last NHL game until February 2nd, 2021. That was the reality, however.
Head coach Todd McLellan kept Bouchard out of the lineup after that game, sensing the rookie defenseman wasn’t ready and forcing the hand of General Manager Peter Chiarelli to assign him back to the OHL’s London Knights. Bouchard finished the season in the OHL, then joined the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors for the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs.
He’d play the entire 2019-20 season in the AHL with the Condors until COVID-19 hit North America. He didn’t play at all over the summer during the ‘Return to Play’ bubble, and spent his fall and early winter in Sweden.
Finally, after being a health scratch for eleven straight games to start this season, Bouchard was back on NHL ice Tuesday night. He very nearly scored a goal, had an assist, and played solid defensive hockey.
“Really solid, really solid,” Coach Dave Tippett said of Bouchard’s season debut. “That’s a tough thing to jump into a game like that. Every game, these points are critical for us. I was really pleased with his game. He was smart and got an assist on a real good shot from the point. He jumped in and didn’t look out of place at all. That’s a real good sign for a young player.”
Unlike other young players who had their 2019-20 seasons cut short in March of 2020 due to COVID-19, Bouchard has played professional hockey recently. He spent the fall in Sweden’s Allsvenskan.
None of that compares to suiting up in the NHL, however.
“It feels good to get back playing here in Edmonton,” Bouchard told reporters on Tuesday night. “I don’t think anyone wants to be in the stands watching the game, but you have to make the most out of it, really scout out the teams you’re playing against, really learn from watching. That’s what I did.”
It worked well. Bouchard certainly looked like he belonged in his season debut.
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