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Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5) [message #793464 is a reply to message #793462 ]	Mon, 25 October 2021 11:20

CrusaderPi
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Registered: December 2003
Location: AB Highway 100

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Adam wrote on Mon, 25 October 2021 10:22

RDOilerfan wrote on Mon, 25 October 2021 09:21

Here is a question for you. If before last years season someone came to you and said, in the 21-22 Bouchard to start the year looking like a legit stud, at worse top 3, right shot dman but the trade off is they did what they did with him last year. In doing that, the Oilers were a good team last year, made the playoffs but lost out no because the defense was bad, it was because they couldn't score. Would you take that? I sure would.

I don't know if how they handled Bouchard last year was completely right but I do know it sure didn't hurt him. I do know that by all accounts whatever they did last year, helped him improve. I don't know if he would have just improved anyway, I doubt it but he could have. I don't know if he played more, he'd be that much better. He's been more than I ever could have expected so I don't know how he could me much better but maybe he could. All I know is, he was drafted by the Oilers, they slow played the crap out of him, maybe more than I personally would have liked but he looks fantastic, so far everything I had hoped he would be when he was drafted so I am having a hard time being upset with how the Oilers handled him at all if this is the end results.

I have a really hard time believing that sitting in the pressbox for the bulk of a season improved Bouchard. If asked about it, I definitely believe that he'll say that it was really valuable - because he's not going to call out his team or his coach. But there were reasons to like his game a lot last year, but he didn't get a lot of opportunity, and one game where the goalie couldn't stop anything ended his season - despite the fact that his pairing (playing on his off-wing with Bear) was actually fantastic that game.

When Joe Thornton was a rookie, his head coach was Pat Burns - another who never really liked rookies, and always wanted people to know who was boss. He scratched Thornton for 27 games that year, and played him low minutes when he was in the lineup. Jumbo Joe only tallied 7 points in 55 games that year. He didn't do a lot to show his displeasure then, but years later when he was with the Sharks, he was asked the leading question whether the tough love from his first coach helped him become the player he grew to become. He scoffed that he didn't learn a lot from not playing.

After Burns died, Thornton changed his tune a little and gave him a bunch of credit as his first coach, but I think that's more the nice things you say about someone who's passed away and the prior comments are likely more true. Players learn most from seeing game action - not from watching from the press box. That's why you and I and the posters of Oilfans.com, despite watching a lot of NHL games, aren't growing greatly in our skills.

Tippett should have given him more of a push last year. He deserved that and showed it when he did play. Because we didn't, there was a bunch of hand-wringing about the defence this summer, and the Oilers made some unforced errors that made the group worse. More visibility on Bouchard's abilities might have helped a lot with that - which in turn may have left us more financial ability to afford a new goalie.

A lot of what happened with Bouchard last year depends on what the team was telling him and how they treated him during the season. Certainly there is some benefit to practicing with professionals, learning their habits, and watching games with people who are teaching you and improving your understanding. I watch games with a beer and a laptop open while doing work... that doesn't help me understand hockey better. *IF* the Oilers had Bouchard watching games with a rotating cast of experienced hockey people who were teaching him the game, last season could have been very valuable. If they left him to his own devices in the pressbox (or loge or wherever they kept people last year) to eat popcorn while endlessly pulling the carrot of game time away it would have been less than productive time.

I guess your perspective of the situation depends on how you see the Oilers and their ability to manage people.

I think it's fair to say Bouchard could have been used a few more times against Ottawa and once the standings were decided, but that might be small potatoes compared to a winter of carefully managed practical experience.

Please do not feed the bears. Feeding the bears creates a dependent population unable to survive on their own. Bears.

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Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: OilFans on Fri, 22 October 2021 22:30
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: CrusaderPi on Fri, 22 October 2021 22:46
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Oscargasm on Fri, 22 October 2021 22:47
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: watchman on Fri, 22 October 2021 22:50
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Oscargasm on Fri, 22 October 2021 22:52
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: inverno76 on Sat, 23 October 2021 07:21
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: kungpaobenji27 on Sat, 23 October 2021 13:31
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Kr55 on Fri, 22 October 2021 22:48
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Adam on Fri, 22 October 2021 22:54
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Leia on Fri, 22 October 2021 23:15
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: inverno76 on Fri, 22 October 2021 23:23
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Mike on Sat, 23 October 2021 06:46
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: K.McC#24 on Sat, 23 October 2021 11:30
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: RDOilerfan on Mon, 25 October 2021 09:21
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Adam on Mon, 25 October 2021 10:22
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: CrusaderPi on Mon, 25 October 2021 11:20
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Goose on Mon, 25 October 2021 13:09
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Mike on Mon, 25 October 2021 13:28
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Adam on Mon, 25 October 2021 13:40
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: GabbyDugan on Mon, 25 October 2021 14:28
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Mike on Mon, 25 October 2021 14:42
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Adam on Mon, 25 October 2021 14:45
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Kr55 on Mon, 25 October 2021 15:37
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: CrudeRemarks on Mon, 25 October 2021 16:48
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Adam on Mon, 25 October 2021 17:15
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Kr55 on Mon, 25 October 2021 18:19
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: oilfan94 on Mon, 25 October 2021 18:46
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Kr55 on Mon, 25 October 2021 18:53
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Goose on Tue, 26 October 2021 13:28
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Adam on Tue, 26 October 2021 16:01
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Mike on Tue, 26 October 2021 17:29
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Skoobz on Sat, 23 October 2021 10:22
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: K.McC#24 on Sat, 23 October 2021 11:36
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: benv on Sat, 23 October 2021 11:53
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Skookum Jim on Sat, 23 October 2021 14:15
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Mike on Mon, 25 October 2021 07:19
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Rocksteady on Mon, 25 October 2021 16:10
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Dragon_Matt on Tue, 26 October 2021 10:30
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: CrudeRemarks on Tue, 26 October 2021 11:37
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Vegas (Game #5)	By: Mike on Tue, 26 October 2021 12:26

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