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SPORTS V is i t in s id e h a l t o n . c o m f o r m o r e c o v e ra g e Bouchard thriving as London's leader Aaron Bell/OHL Photos Evan Bouchard was named the Ontario Hockey League's top defenceman in both November and December. HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@burlingtonpost.com It was a very un-London Knights-like start to the season. The team that had posted six straight 40-win seasons and won three OHL championships and a Memorial Cup in that span sput­ tered out of the gate to a 1-8-1 start. London had lost three of its top six scoring forwards, but it was on the back end where the team really took a hit. Five defencemen moved on to pro careers, including Victor Mete, who made the jump from ju­ nior to the Montreal Canadiens, and Olli Juolevi, the fifth overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft. That left Evan Bouchard, who was adapting to the new role of No. 1 defenceman while leading a group of blueliners who were greener than the Knights' home jerseys. Apart from the third- year defenceman, the rest of the D-men the Knights opened the season with brought a combined 44 games of OHL experience. Bouchard, still just 17 when the season began, watched his veteran teammates during his first two seasons and leaned on those lessons as he looked to pull the Knights out of their funk. "It shows you what it takes to become a top player - how hard you have to work," Bouchard said. "For me, it helped a lot, just growing in­ to the role and being a leader." The learning curve was short. Bouchard was named the OHL's defenceman of the month in both November and December, scor­ ing 10 goals, racking up 34 points and a plus-18 mark in 21 games. And the Knights followed his lead, going 14-5-2 during that stretch, climbing to second place in the Midwest Division. "He runs the power play, he's on the first PK, handles every tough matchup playing against the other team's first or second line," said Knights general man­ ager Rob Simpson. "He was in­ strumental in turning our season around." London also made it clear that Bouchard will be an integral part of the team going forward. De­ spite moving up the standings, the Knights realized their best chance of winning might still be a year or two down the road. So, in the week leading up to the trade deadline, the Knights dealt their top four goal scorers, all in their final year of junior or top draft picks who are likely to turn pro next season. When the dust settled, London named Bouchard its new captain. "He leads by example in how he plays in games," Simpson said. "He's not the most vocal guy, but he lets his actions speak for them­ selves. When he does say some­ thing, he garners a lot of respect from his teammates." Bouchard's actions spoke loudly during a nine-day stretch in December, in which he scored overtime winners against Peter­ borough and Erie, and had the game's only goal in a 1-0 win over Owen Sound. As the season moves into its fi­ nal two months, Bouchard leads all defencemen with 60 points, which puts him among the top 10 in scoring in the OHL. "It's a product of knowing the game better and where to be on- ice," said the six-foot-two defen­ ceman, who put in extra condi­ tioning work in the off-season to prepare for his increased role. The former Oakville Ranger has managed to do all this under the close watch of NHL scouts in his draft year. Proving that spot­ light has not affected him, Bou­ chard had a record-tying four as­ sists in last week's Canadian Hockey League Top Prospects Game, as he was named Team Cherry's MVP in a 7-4 win. It's quite possible Bouchard, who was selected 17th overall by London in 2015, will go higher in the NHL draft than he did in the OHL. NHL Central Scouting has him ranked fifth among North American skaters, though Swed­ ish defenceman Rasmus Dahlin is the consensus No. 1 pick. TSN's Bob McKenzie, who compiles his list by polling NHL scouts, had Bouchard ranked 7th overall (after not making the top 20 in the pre-season poll), making him the top-ranked Canadian- born player. "He's one of the best passers of any player in the draft, with an uncanny knack of finding the open man and making an NHL- quality pass," McKenzie's scout­ ing report said. "He also possess­ es a booming shot from the point." None of that matters to Bou­ chard, who has done his best to avoid the draft hype. He believes the best way to prepare for the future is to concentrate on the present. He has managed the scrutiny of his every move by simply keep­ ing one goal in mind - team suc­ cess. The way he sees it, the lon­ ger the Knights play, the more op­ portunities scouts will have to see him play. "I want to focus on this year," he said, "finish strong and help the team go as far as we can." | O akville B eaver | Thursday, February 8, 2018 insidehalton.com mailto:hgarbutt@burlingtonpost.com Visit insidehalton.com for more coverage