Evan Bouchard is making it clear to Kris Knoblauch and Hockey Canada that they made a mistake by leaving him off the team with every point he scores for Edmonton.
The main point from the original article is really straightforward: Canada didn’t take a right-handed defenseman who is scoring goals like very few others on the team.
This choice looks worse every day.
Bouchard has 20 goals and 84 points in 73 games, which are both his best numbers ever.
He is also the top-scoring defenseman in the NHL for both goals and points, which is why people keep talking about this mistake.
That’s something everyone has to face now.
When a defenseman is close to scoring 90 points, he isn’t just good on power plays. He can change the game from the back end.
Sure, there are still moments where people point out his mistakes in defense.
That will always happen with Bouchard, especially when one error on the blue line gets shown repeatedly.
But this criticism ignores the bigger picture.
He can change the flow of a game with just one pass, one breakout play, or one shot through a crowd, and that’s exactly what is often needed in top-level hockey.
Canada chose to play it safe instead of going for more offense.
The clearest point in the article is that Canada stuck with the same defense team and had problems when they weren’t scoring enough later in the tournament.
In a gold medal match that ended 2-1 against the United States, this choice was really noticeable.
Cale Makar was never going to be taken off that team. The tougher question is why Bouchard couldn’t take the place of one of the other right-handed players when his potential to score is so much higher.
And this isn’t just based on a short success. Bouchard has already proven in the playoffs that he can deal with a lot of pressure and still help his team score from the defense.
In 2024, he scored 32 points in 23 playoff games.
In more than 75 playoff games in his career, he scored 20 goals and has 81 points, which is really impressive for a defenseman in those types of games.
This is why this situation is so important. Hockey Canada didn’t just leave out a backup player. They didn’t include a player whose attacking skills are getting better when it matters most.
If he continues to perform like this, the talks about the best players for the next big competition will shift quickly. Bouchard isn’t just hoping to be looked at again. He is making it happen.
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