Among the Free Press’s Helene St. James’ mailbag questions:
HSJ: From people I talk to in the organization, Evan Bouchard tops their post-Dahlin defensive depth chart. He has size (6-foot-2, 193 pounds), shoots right, has a heavy shot and a great first pass. He dominated in the Ontario Hockey League with 25 goals among 87 points in 67 games, tops among OHL defensemen. Beyond that, Adam Boqvist and Michigan’s Quinn Hughes are dynamic skaters, and Noah Dobson is another big guy (6-foot-3, 180 pounds) who shoots right, makes a good first pass and skates well.
Forward Oliver Wahlstrom (40 goals among 83 points in 54 games with National Team Development Program) is an elite goal scorer, but the Wings really need an top defensive prospect.
I agree. Bouchard should be the best fit for Detroit. Detroit already has enough small Dmen with offensive upside. They need a puck mover who has some size. Bouchard also has the better shot then Boqvist and Huges. I do like that Huges has played against good, strong competition in college and put up good numbers. It’s hard to look beyond that and his skating. Out of the three he’s clearly the better skater. Boqvist probably has the best offensive potential but it’s really hard to guage based on his stats. He put up good numbers in the J20 but not at all in his limited time against men in the SHL.
What worries me about Bouchard is the Wing’s have drafted guys from the O who have had success in that league but not worked out.
I am starting to wonder if Bouchard is not at pick 6 but Tkachuk or Wahlstrom are which of those two does Detroit take?
Would take Dobson over Bouchard. Better skater. Both are nice and TALL though. The article mentions both have size but doesn’t mention the word tall. So just wanted to add that.
Awe. Still stinging over that “Tall” thing that you can’t just let it go.
Here’s to trying. It was good while it lasted a mere 12 hours.
If Bouchard is available the Wings will take him. I’ve heard Holland and others rave about him. He also has the bigger shot of the D-men mentioned which definitely helps at the NHL level. And as Grr mentioned, we have our share of undersized D prospects with offensive upside. Bouchard looks to be the complete package when it comes to D that aren’t named Dahlin.
If Boqvist and Bouchard both go in the top 5 then thing get trickier. That means Tkachuk and Wahlstrom are still on the table. Personally, I don’t think Tkachuk has the goal scoring chops the Wings need and would favor Wahlstrom. Wings were at the bottom of the pack in goals for and could really use a sniper too.
If the Wings choose to go with a D-man still, then you have Dobson and Hughes to choose from. Unless you feel you can get some real value for Hicketts or Saarjarvi, then would you really want to add Hughes? Either way, in this scenario, they could trade down a couple spots and still get one of these guys. Either that or go with one of the forwards above.
I really feel like the Wings need to take the best available D-man with the 6th pick. I hope that Bouchard is available. Even though he’s smaller, Hughes seems to have a offensive dynamic the Wings currently lack in the prospect pool. Landing him wouldn’t be the worst thing ever. If it’s a forward, I also favor Wahlstrom over Tkachuck.