"We feel we have a player in Bouchard who will fill that need (for an offensive-defenseman)," Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli said. "It may not be right away, but he's a very heady player, he's a very skilled player with a high level of compete, good size, who can skate, and he'll be a tremendous fit for us."
Bouchard said he was hoping the Oilers would select him because of the prospect of playing with two-time NHL scoring leader center Connor McDavid.
"I think there are a wide-range of picks available from the No. 5 to the No. 10 spot and it could have gone any way," Bouchard said. "I had a pretty good feeling about Edmonton and they were one of the teams that I really wanted to go to."
Bouchard looked impressive during Oilers development camp, during on-ice sessions and an intrasquad game that closed the camp.
"For now I'm taking it one step at a time, taking it all in and enjoying the moment," he said. "This was a good learning experience, a good opportunity to get feedback from the coaches. They tell you what they think you need to improve on."
If Bouchard does not earn a spot with the Oilers during training camp he'll return to London. But according to Chiarelli, the Oilers are not actively looking for an offensive-minded defenseman through a trade.
"We can't rely on [Bouchard] to fill that need right away, we have to rely on the other [defensemen] picking up the slack and see where he fits in," Chiarelli said. "He has to make the team first, but he's the kind of player that we were looking for and is hard to find in a trade and you have to draft them. That's why we drafted him."
