The 19-year-old forward had an underwhelming start to his freshman season at Boston University. After he had three points (two goals, one assist) in 17 games, Boucher decided NCAA hockey was not the right fit. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 28 and was assigned to Ottawa in the Ontario Hockey League. He found a better fit there with 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 24 games.
For Boucher, the rebound was all about getting more reps.
"I know I've been saying this for a while now to the media, but the past few years I haven't really played a lot of hockey," Boucher said. "In college, you play 30 or so games. When I was at Boston University], they were done well before our season [with OHL Ottawa] was over. I got to play a lot of hockey, got to do a lot of catch up, I guess. And it was a great spot. I'm thankful that they took me in so I could finish the year there."
The Senators expect the native of Scottsdale, Arizona to play one final OHL season before making the jump to pro hockey. Boucher was selected by the Senators with the No. 10 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
"I talked to him the other day," Senators general manager Pierre Dorion told TSN 1050 on July 14. "I said, 'Tyler, don't worry about any noise outside. When we're going to need to win the [Stanley] Cup, and we hope to get to that point, you're going to be an important part of that.'
"You need these guys to win. He's a man. He does everything with hard pace. He's going to dominate this year in junior. He knows, most likely, that he's going back to junior. He shoots the puck as good as any prospect and most players on our team. He finishes checks."
Boucher, the son of retired NHL goalie Brian Boucher, chose to make Ottawa home this offseason. He's living with Senators prospects Jake Sanderson and
[Ridly Greig
, training with them and giving the organization a close look at his development.
"[Boucher] is another guy who's been working really hard this summer," Senators player development coach Jesse Winchester said. "We've had a lot of contact with him and we're expecting good things from him. He's maturing, his skating has really improved and he's going to have a great year."
Boucher's rocky, unsettled start with the organization has not stopped him from setting lofty goals. His NHL debut likely is still at least one year away, but he already feels like an important piece for a Senators team on the upswing.
"We've kind of talked about Ottawa being in the rebuilding stage for the past couple years, and now it's time to turn it up a notch," Boucher said. "We want to be a winning culture, we want to be a Stanley Cup team and every skate we do is going toward that, so I think the hard work we put in is going to pay off and we're going to be a great team in the future."
