Reid Boucher

History

2008-09: Reid Boucher played for the Lansing Capitals midget major U-18 squad. In 64 games, he scored 79 goals with 41 assists and had 119 PMs. Boucher was selected by the Sarnia Sting in the 14th round (272nd overall) of the OHL Priority draft and by the Youngstown Phantoms in the fourth round of the USHL Futures Draft. He committed to playing college hockey at Michigan State in 2011-12.

2009-10: Boucher was selected for the US National Team Development program and spent the bulk of the season with U-17 squad; appearing in one U-18 game. In 24 USHL games with the NTDP team, he scored 10 goals with 4 assists with a -9 plus/minus and was assessed 22 PMs. In 41 non-USHL contests with the U-17 squad, he scored 17 goals with 13 assists and had 38 PMs. He also participated in the World Hockey Challenge U-17 tournament, scoring 2 goals with five assists in six games for Team USA.

2010-11: Boucher returned to Ann Arbor for his second season with the NTDP squad, competing in both the USHL games and with the U-18 club. In 24 USHL contests, he scored 14 goals with 6 assists and was a much-improved +6 and 13 PMs. In 57 total U-18 games, he scored 32 goals with 22 assists and recorded 35 PMs. Boucher's 8 goals for Team USA at the World Junior Championship U-18 tournament were second only to Russia's Nikita Kucherov (11) among tournament goal scorers and he also had 2 assists. Among his 8 goals were 3 game-winners, including a tie-breaking score with 21 seconds left in a 4-3 win over Russia. Boucher had a pair of goals in USA's win over Canada in the semi-finals and then scored with 1:29 left in the gold medal game against Sweden to tie things up in another eventual 4-3 overtime USA win. Boucher was ranked 113 amongst North American skaters in Central Scouting's final rankings and was selected by the Devils in the 4th round (99th overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft and after the draft announced that he would forego college hockey and join the OHL's Sarnia Sting in 2011-12.

2011-12: Boucher made his pro hockey debut – appearing in a late season AHL game with the Albany Devils – following his first OHL season with Sarnia. He was minus-one with no points nor penalties in his brief stint with Albany. Boucher scored 28 goals in 67 games for Sarnia (second on the Sting to 2012 number one overall pick Nail Yakupov's 31 goals) but was a team-worst minus-19 plus/minus. He had 22 assists with 19 penalty minutes. Sarnia finished second in the West Division and Boucher scored 2 goals with 1 assist and was even with 4 penalty minutes in the six-game playoff series with Saginaw.

 

Talent Analysis

Boucher’s best assets are his deadly accurate shot, lightning-quick release, and his soft hands. Whether it’s in-tight or from outside the circles, Boucher can snipe with the best of them. More quick than fast, Boucher has good vision and knows where to park himself on the ice in order to get quality chances in the offensive zone. He doesn’t let his size keep him from battling for loose pucks and he does not shy away from traffic, however these are two things he needs to do more of to become more involved in the play. His overall defensive game is still a work in progress, but he has plenty of time to polish that area up.

 

Future

Despite a couple of lengthy scoring droughts, Boucher continued to show the ability to find the net in his first year for Sarnia. The Devils know he can score, and that will always be his calling card. His defensive play will likely never be that great, but it’s still something he needs to become more proficient at. There is boom/bust potential here, but his scoring skills could carry him a long way.