Scouting Report – Robert Bouchard – Minnesota Storm – Center – VHLM Draftee

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Attributes Ratings:

Coming from a small town, Robert Bouchard hasn’t had a lot of the spotlight that other prospect might obtained if he had played in a bigger market. At 5’11” and 195lbs the Canadian from Chatam, New Brunswick looks to follow in the footsteps of a fellow Maritimer, Sydney Crosby.  Robert shows similar progression path as he has the ability like any playmaker to find his teammates as if he has eyes in the back of his head. Speed and edge work of his skating allows him to drive players back creating open space for his teammates but also has the ability to beat a player one on one with his puck handling skills. Has shown some strength in the face-off circle and only projects to get better. Plays with grit despite his shy quiet kid off the ice.

NHL Comparisons:

 

                                                                                                                                   

Elite Comparison: Sydney Crosby                                Realistic Comparison: Bo Horvat                                       Low-end Comparison: Ryan Strome

 

Pro/Cons

Pros:

• High Hockey IQ: See the ice very well and uses his speed to create space for himself or his line mates.

• Skating: Ability to drive the play up the ice, drive the defense back and creating open space for himself or his line mates.

• Defensive: While consider a play-maker, he still has the responsibly to play a 50ft game at both ends of the rink.

• Face-offs: Starting with the puck is always high-end skill and he has shown above average ability in the face-off circle.

Cons:

• Physicality: At only sixteen years old needs time to develop further into his body and he current lacks overall strength. Needs to adjust some of his 195lb frame into more muscle mass.

• Discipline: Despite being shy quiet kid off the ice, he plays with a lot of grit and can hold his own. Needs to learn he serves his team better when he is on the ice and not in the box.

• Scoring: Tends to look pass first and hasn’t developed a scoring touch in few games he has played in VHLM. This might become an issue if not addressed in the future.

Early outlook:

Given the small sample size for Robert Bouchard, He has had a slow start playing on the second line for the Minnesota Storm registering only two shots in his first two games in averaging 22:14 of ice time. In the two games he went 19/39 in the face circle for 48.71%. The coach showed a lot of confidence in the young Canadian as he was used a lot on the penalty kill with an average ice time of 3:56 on the first PK line as the team was prefect killing off 8/8 PK for 100%.  He had second line PP time for an average ice time of 1:57 as the teams PP went 0/3.

S75 Draftee: Robert Bouchard

Projection:

Slow starts are come in the VHLM but all Robert Bouchard has all the skill sets to project into a top end play-making center, while he might not reach the elite comparison in Sydney Crosby he should be a solid center closer to the mold of Horvat and projects to be a very strong VHLM and VHL player in the future. I know we will be watching his progression closely and his VHLM draft stock rises.