Edmonton Oilers’ Head Coach Mike Babcock Could Elevate Evan Bouchard’s Game – The Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers

When Mike Babcock was hired as the 19th Head Coach in Edmonton Oilers history, he was interviewed and then endorsed by the leadership group led by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. When asked about Babcock, Draisaitl recently mentioned, “I think he’s got a very clear plan, and I think he holds guys accountable, and I think to him, it’s not about who it is when it comes to accountability, you know.” Without mentioning names, Draisaitl might be alluding to teammate Evan Bouchard, who has been known to lose focus and go from making a spectacular play one moment to turning the puck over in his own zone the next. Babcock could be exact head coach Bouchard needs to round out his game.

Bouchard Might Get the Right Push From Babcock

Former NHL defenceman and current co host of the Barn Burner podcast, Rhett Warrener had some interesting thoughts recently about the Oilers leadership group and the Babcock hiring. He believes Babcock might have been hired to light a fire under Bouchard. Warrener said, “I think they (the Oilers) hired Babcock cause they’re all mad at Bouchard. They (the leadership group) say well we need someone to push…I think they mean push our 90 point defenceman. You’ve seen McDavid and Draisaitl and the rest of the group roll their eyes and have a big sigh after “Bouch Bomb” decides I’m going to lay a turd in the middle of our zone and the other team’s going to score.” This insight from Warrener is really intriguing. He knows the game and how to read a dressing room and could be bang on in his theory about Bouchard.

Bouchard Has Room For Improvement

It can be hard to criticize a player like Bouchard who is one of the best offensive defecemen in the league, however when he loses focus it often means he’s fishing the puck out of his own net. Perhaps Babcock and Oilers assistant coach D.J. Smith could be the right coaches to hold Bouchard accountable for turning the puck over in his own zone and help him tighten his game up defensively. Bouchard, who turns 27 in October still has a high ceiling.

During the Oilers run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2024 and 2025, he proved he could play stingy defence. The issue that Babcock needs to work on with him is consistency at both ends of the ice. If Bouchard becomes more consistent, you can probably put him up there with Colordao Avalanche D-man Cale Makar, Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Quinn Hughes of the Minnesota Wild as a perennial Norris Trophy candidate.

Keep An Eye on Bouchard and Babcock This Season

As the Oilers get ready to gather for training camp for the 2026-27 NHL Season, one of the story lines to follow might be the relationship between Babcock and Bouchard. If Babcock lives up to his billing as a tough old fashioned disiplinarian, Bouchard could find himself benched if he has too many giveaways in his own zone. Previous Oilers head coaches Kris Knoblauch and even Jay Woodcroft took a different approach to players and you rarely saw them bench a player, especially a veteran if they made a bad play. Things could change in a big way under Babcock and if egos are kept in check, players such as Bouchard could see a big improvement in their overall game.

Players Such as Zach Hyman Have Flourished Under Babcock

Zach Hyman, who played under Babcock with the Toronto Maple Leafs from the 2015-16 NHL season to 2019-20, was interviewed during the offseason and credited Babcock with helping his career. “I obviously had a good experience with Mike in Toronto, said Hyman. I thought he did a great job with a lot of the young players that were there.”

The same could happen for Bouchard. Even though he turns 27, he still seems relatively young and is hopefully open to learning more to round out his game. If Babcock can work his magic with players such as Evan Bouchard, he could elevate his game to Norris Trophy standards. Who knows after that; it could mean Bouchard might eventually join Makar in the $20 million a year club.