Ottawa Senators Select Tyler Boucher 10th Overall
The Senators select RW Tyler Boucher out of the USDP
The Ottawa Senators made their first selection of the 2021 Draft, taking right-winger Tyler Boucher of the US Development Program:
With the 10th overall pick in the 2021 #NHLDraft, the #Sens select Tyler Boucher from the @USAHockeyNTDP! #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/BX92kDgYY8
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) July 24, 2021
The top-9 rated players went in the top 9, meaning the Senators had their choice of the next crop of players. Many were thinking that they would be taking either a goalie (Jesper Wallstedt or Sebastian Cossa) or someone like Chaz Lucius. However, with an open second tier, Ottawa went with the guy they like the most, which is Boucher.
Here is how Bob McKenzie described Boucher:
Most common scout comment on Boucher during my interviews, “He’s not Tom Wilson, but…” And the but, of course, is that’s the style he plays. Son of Brian Boucher. Congrats Bouch!
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) July 24, 2021
Boucher played just 19 games this season due to a January knee injury, including 5 in the USHL, 2 for the U17 US National team, and 12 for the U18 US National team:
He is listed as a right-winger, which is exactly what the Senators need in terms of depth. I’ll be honest, he wasn’t on my radar at all for 10th overall so I can’t pretend that I know too much about him. And I’m sure most of the staff and readers are in a similar boat, mainly because he was mainly ranked in the 2nd round. As with all of these picks, I’m extremely happy for him and I’ll be rooting hard for him next year at Boston University. At the same time, if he truly is a Tom Wilson-like player, I don’t quite understand going for someone with less upside. Again though, Senators prospects have proven people wrong before, so hopefully he can do that.
Scott Wheeler had this to say about Boucher earlier on:
Here's what @scottcwheeler wrote about Tyler Boucher in his list of the top 100 draft eligibles: pic.twitter.com/QYY6C0YlkO
— Graeme Nichols (@6thSens) July 24, 2021
We will have more in-depth analysis of his game in the future, but for now, it’s time to gather information.