BLOG: Ekholm boasts about Bouchard's offensive acumen 

EDMONTON, AB – For a team that’s been tasked with making plays from the back end and moving the puck up quickly under Assistant Coach Paul Coffey's guidance, defenceman Evan Bouchard has been a dream for both his coaches and the Oilers forwards.

“A very smart player who transports the puck really well,” Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said of Bouchard. “I know the forwards love when he's on the ice because they know they're going to get a puck. They're going to get a good pass from him.”

The 24-year-old has been a key offensive producer on Edmonton’s blue line this season, currently fourth in team scoring and sixth among all NHL defencemen with five goals and 17 assists in 22 games.

Bouchard is currently riding a career-best eight-game point streak where the Oakville, Ont. product has recorded two goals and eight assists – six of those helpers coming on the power play – as one of the prime offensive threats in the League from the blue line at both even strength and with the man advantage.

“I think that he's an instinctive guy. He's got such good quick reads,” Mattias Ekholm said. “You could tell in Winnipeg there was a couple of times where I went down and kind of dropped it back to him on the blue line.

“As the last guy he's dangling a forward, and when he makes those plays, you know that he's kind of on his game… I think he's done that throughout most of this whole year, but especially as of late.”

Ekholm has formed a strong connection with Bouchard since he arrived in Oil Country from Nashville at last season’s Trade Deadline and the pairing has continued to show strongly together as we pass the quarter-mark of this 2023-24 regular season.

“I think he's our best offensive defenceman by a lot and he makes plays out there,” Ekholm said. “His game is offensive. If he would try to just play it safe all the time, I'm not sure why we would have him out there. He's supposed to play this way and he does it really well, so I just try to encourage him because he does things that I can't do.

“It's nice to have a partner where we can complement each other."

Bouchard’s offensive acumen comes as advertised, but growth in his defensive game has been a big part of his pairing’s increased effectiveness this year, helping lead to the blueliner owning a 61.78 Corsi For Percentage (CF%) and a 59.84 scoring chances for percentage (SCF%) when he’s on the ice, as per Natural Stat Trick.

“When he's playing his best, he's moving his feet and being able to check,” Knoblauch said. “He checks differently than his partner Ekholm does, but he's still a pretty good checker when he's moving his feet, he's got good angles and he does have a good stick.

“Usually a guy who has a good stick is somebody who has good awareness, is a smart hockey player and he is definitely that.”