There’s a reason why Tyler Boucher is making waves in the hockey world as a right wing and not as a goaltender like his father, Brian, a native of Woonsocket, R.I., who patrolled the crease in the National Hockey League for 13 seasons.
“My mom (Melissa) was like, ‘No way! We’re not doing that again!’ ” Boucher chuckled.
When he was younger, Boucher got a taste of what it was like to be the last line of defense on several occasions. And one moment stands out above the rest. Celebrating his 6th birthday, Boucher was pulled out of his kindergarten class by his dad, who was playing for the San Jose Sharks at the time, and together they went to the rink for a Sharks practice. Boucher, the younger one, stood in the blue paint.
“Everyone was coming around shooting muffins on me because I’m little and they don’t want to, you know,” Boucher, 18, reminisced. “Then Joe Thornton comes out, steps over the blue line and takes a full slap slot, an absolute bomb, that goes right over my shoulder. Everyone was looking around like, ‘Are you serious, Jumbo?’ It’s a funny story that I’ll never forget.”
Ultimately, Boucher decided to go his own route as a forward. It’s proven to be an excellent decision. The right-handed shooter tallied 26 points (9-17-26) in 43 games with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program Under-17 team last season. This campaign, the 6-foot-1, 200-pounder has 11 points (6-5-11) in 12 contests with the Under-18 club and three goals in two games with the Under-17 squad.
Earlier this season, Boucher’s play was recognized by NHL Central Scouting when the bureau gave him a ‘B’ rating on its preliminary players to watch list for the 2021 NHL draft, indicating that the Haddonfield, N.J., native is a candidate to be selected in the second or third round.
“Tyler is a power forward who also has the skill-set where he can make plays with anybody,” Under-18 team coach Dan Muse (Canton, Mass.) said. “He’s a guy who plays a powerful, physical game. He can create space for those guys who are around him. In terms of getting in on the forecheck, finishing checks, driving the net and driving defenders wide, he’s able to create space with and without the puck, and he leads with power. He plays a (Washington Capitals right wing) Tom Wilson type of game. It’s not just physical and power, there’s also a skill element to it. He has a great shot, a hard release. He can score from distance and around the net.”
As soon as Boucher found out he was on the list, he quickly turned the page.
“It doesn’t mean anything to me,” Boucher said. “It’s not something I watch or care to look at. My mindset is to come to the rink, play hockey, play my best, help my team win and keep improving. I feel if you do the right things and work hard, you’re going to get rewarded. Even if you get drafted, you see a lot of guys get drafted high and some of them don’t even play in the NHL. It’s about working after that, too. If you just focus on playing hockey, getting better and the controllables, everything should fall into place.”
Boucher’s determination to always upgrade his game is a trait he inherited from Brian, whose advice for his son is to “get one percent better every day.”
“There are some days when you’re not feeling your best and you don’t want to be at the rink, but if you go there every day with that attitude to get one percent better, it’s going to add up over time,” Boucher said. “Last year, I struggled a little bit at the program the first half, and he reminded me to keep that mentality, and I saw some huge jumps in my game.”
For three of his youth hockey seasons playing for Team Comcast, which became Virtua Hockey, Boucher experienced his father’s intensity up close when Brian was a coach.
“My dad is an ultra competitor,” Boucher said of his father, who now is an NHL analyst with NBC Sports. “It doesn’t matter if it’s some throwaway game, he wants to win, and he passed that onto me and our team. He was a really intense coach and super hard on me, but that’s what got him to the NHL and why he played there for so long. I learned a lot from him, and I’m thankful for the three years he coached me.”
Boucher’s favorite youth hockey moment was when he represented the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2016 Quebec International Pee-Wee Tournament, where he recorded a goal and an assist in two contests. “It was really cool to play in front of thousands of people and in that atmosphere, especially at a young age,” Boucher said.
Another memorable match from his younger years came in his only season, 2018-19, at Avon Old Farms School when his team played in a playoff game against Deerfield Academy. Unfortunately for Boucher, his club lost. Despite the ending, he called going to the prep school the best decision of his life.
“I had been playing high school hockey and travel hockey, and it was getting hectic,” Boucher said. “I wanted to be in one spot, a good spot, for both academics and hockey.”
Boucher got that at Avon Old Farms, but he received more than he bargained for, and he couldn’t be more appreciative. “I have friendships that will last a lifetime. Some of those guys will be at my wedding, and I’ll be at their weddings,” Boucher said. “You go there thinking you’re going to be playing hockey, but you really form a family there. You’re best friends with baseball players, soccer players, not just hockey players. I’ll remember my time there forever.”
If Boucher wanted to challenge some of the non-hockey athletes in their respective sports, he likely would’ve fared well. Growing up, he played baseball and golf.
“My dad told me, ‘Go be a kid. Don’t just be a hockey player. Be an athlete,’ ” Boucher recalled. “In the summers, I wouldn’t even open my hockey bag for a while. Playing travel baseball and golf was a break away from hockey. I loved it.”
Eventually, Boucher gave up the other sports to pursue hockey. But some of the skills he acquired from baseball and golf benefit him on the ice. For example, he credits the other sports for aiding him with net-front tips and catching pucks and placing them down. And whether he was throwing a baseball or hitting a golf ball, he wanted to do it “super hard and super powerful,” which has helped him unleash scorching shots on the ice.
“At a young age, I could kill a golf ball. I used to hit bombs in Little League. Not to be cocky, but,” Boucher chuckled before continuing, “on the ice, I’ve always noticed that my shot is heavier than many other kids’ and I think it’s from playing those other sports. Maybe the mechanics translated over. It definitely helps my hand-eye coordination.”
Boucher’s NTDP teams have been reaping the rewards that he delivers with his shot the last two seasons. But both campaigns have presented different challenges that Boucher has been forced to overcome.
Last season, he wasn’t happy with his game and decided to add attributes to it that would separate him from his peers. In his case, it meant adding an edge to his arsenal.
“I decided to be physical and mean out there,” Boucher explained. “I wanted to anger people. But at the same time, I can use my skills, too. My coaches and my dad helped me find that. My dad said to me halfway through the year that I needed to watch Tom Wilson, (Calgary Flames left wing) Matthew Tkachuk and (Montreal Canadiens right wing) Josh Anderson. Those three players, that has to be me. Ever since then, I’ve been watching them and adding stuff that I see in their games to my game. At the same time, I’m also my own player and my own version of that. I try to play that mean, hard, powerful, skill game.”
Boucher was thriving in that role at the start of this season, as he scored a goal in six consecutive appearances to open the campaign, totaling six goals and three assists during that stretch. But soon after that sizzling streak, he suffered an illness and later an injury, which limited him to one game from December through February.
Being out of the lineup for such a long period of time took a toll on the young man, who wanted nothing more than to be on the ice with his teammates. “This is a huge year for us. We want to win a gold medal at the end of it (in the 2021 IIHF Under-18 World Championship),” Boucher said. “It was hard being away from the boys for that long. I love those guys so much; they’re like brothers to me. Not being with them, you feel rock bottom.”
The most difficult task for Boucher while he was sidelined was maintaining a positive mindset. However, he had plenty of people to lean on to lift his spirits.
Said Boucher: “I can’t thank the staff enough for what they’ve done for me. They stuck with me the whole time and made sure I was still in great shape and keeping my head on straight. The boys were always checking up on me, asking me how I was doing. They were still cracking jokes and having some laughs. My dad told me suffering injuries is a part of hockey and if you want to play the sport you’re going to have to deal with ups and downs. You just can’t get knocked down forever. You have to get back up. And my dad kept saying what he said before about getting one percent better every day. You have to always be working on something or going to the gym and getting stronger. Control the controllables and make the best of it.”
Boucher hasn’t missed a beat since his return in March, either on the ice or in the locker room with his coaches and teammates.
“Tyler is a fun-loving guy, and when the time is right he has an outgoing personality,” Muse said. “He’s fun to be around, but he’s a competitor when it’s time to compete.”
In the fall, Boucher will be taking his competitive drive to Boston University. One of the reasons he chose to be a Terrier is because Boston College didn’t send him an offer.
“When BU offered me, I was like, ‘Great! BC’s rival!’ ” Boucher said. “But I did fall in love with BU. It’s a great school with a great history of players and championships. The coaching staff is unbelievable. I have family in Rhode Island, so I’ll be close to them. I’m really excited for next year.”
And thanks to Melissa and Jumbo Joe Thornton, Boucher will be firing pucks toward the net, not trying to stop them.
Leo Scaglione Jr. can be reached at feedback@hockeyjournal.com and on Twitter @LeoScaglioneJr.
