The Edmonton Oilers selected Evan Bouchard with the 10th pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.
A defenceman for the OHL's London Knights, Bouchard had a breakout season in 2017-18 with 87 points (25 goals, 62 assists) and was a plus-23 in 67 games played. His offensive output nearly doubled from the previous campaign.
10th overall: Evan Bouchard to the @EdmontonOilers@EvanBouchard02 ranked first among all defensemen and eighth in the entire OHL with 25-62—87 in 67 games. #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/AFACQUDptv
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) June 23, 2018
The Oakville, Ont., native's growth convinced the Oilers to take Bouchard in the top 10.
Welcome to #OilCountry, Evan Bouchard! 👊 #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/4lwLxWBbop
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) June 23, 2018
In addition to his growing numbers, Bouchard served as London's captain during his most-recent season in the OHL. He credits his leadership duties on a younger Knights team as part of a maturing process that will help him down the road.
"It was different for me, but I think it was a good experience to really get the feel for it," he said. "But the coaching staff, management, they did a great job in picking up young talent.
"So a lot of people counted us out. We thought to ourselves, ‘We have nothing to lose here,’ so making everyone comfortable in the room and everyone wanting to win, I think that helped us a lot."
Bouchard knows the leap from juniors to the NHL is a big one, but he's confident in his ability to make the transition.
"For me, I’m just trying to take it one step at a time. Enjoy the process," he said. "I know there’s a lot of stuff to work on for next season, but the goal for me is to go into main camp ready and turn heads from there and go from there."