Canucks News: Boucher Earning Ice Time, Benning Could Be the Problem

Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning wants the younger players to get more ice time — they’ve earned it.

When Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning asked his head coach, Willie Desjardins, to give more ice time to the team’s younger players, there weren’t many options. Bo Horvat, Sven Baertschi, Markus Granlund, Troy Stecher and Ben Hutton have been playing major roles all season. And behind them, there isn’t much left.

One player who did struggle to get ice time, however, was winger Reid Boucher. The 23-year-old has appeared in just 32 games this season; five of them in the AHL, and 28 with three different NHL clubs.

Now, the Canucks are giving Boucher a bigger chance — he’s earned it.

Meanwhile, fans and media are still trying to find someone to blame the bad season on, and Benning has joined the conversation.

Benning Could Be the Problem

Leah Dyck (The Hockey Writers) — Is Benning the Canucks’ Problem?

"When Benning was hired, the Canucks showed fans just how serious they really were with their rebuilding intentions, as Benning had extensive experience in drafting and developing players into the NHL. On paper, he looked exactly like the guy the Canucks needed, as he served five seasons as an amateur scout, eight as a Director of Scouting, one as a Director of Player Personnel and seven as an assistant general manager to an NHL team throughout his career.On the ice, though, his experience hasn’t transpired into a whole lot."

Leah Dyck of The Hockey Writers took a look at Benning’s draft record in Vancouver, as well as Boston and Buffalo. Surprisingly, the results were not outstanding, and his top Canucks picks aren’t looking great either.

Benning’s first two picks with Vancouver were Jake Virtanen and Jared McCann. Virtanen is having a weak season with the AHL Utica Comets, as he currently sits at six goals and 15 points in 52 games. McCann, on the other hand, is not even with the organisation anymore.

Then there’s 2015 first-round pick Olli Juolevi, who is constantly compared to Calgary Flame Matthew Tkachuk. Yes, things aren’t looking great for Benning.

However, we are still waiting for Thatcher Demko and Brock Boeser, who are looking like elite prospects. It is way too early to really judge the Juolevi pick, McCann was turned into a young veteran defenceman, and Virtanen could still rediscover his scoring ability.

Most of Benning’s moves were met with heavy criticism, but some of them actually worked out well.

For example, while Markus Granlund is playing top-six minutes in Vancouver, Hunter Shinkaruk is still an AHL regular in the Flames organisation.

Benning has made some good moves, and he’s made questionable ones. But whichever side you make out to be more important, I find it way too early to lay any blame on him.

Boucher Earning Ice Time

J.D. Burke (Canucks Army) — Reid Boucher’s Earned More Playing Time

"When Canucks general manager Jim Benning speaks publicly about his desire for prioritizing youth and development down the stretch, perhaps no one player stands to benefit more than Reid Boucher."

There is a certain danger associated with playing prospects who haven’t earned their ice time. Point in case: Jake Virtanen. But when a players reaches Reid Boucher’s age and situation, it’s a little different.

Boucher is now 23 years old and his NHL debut is almost four years in the past. But since then, he hasn’t gotten a real opportunity.

In a case like Boucher’s, opportunity is literally everything. He clearly has NHL talent, but he might not be good enough — or rather proven enough — to play on a top team in the league.

So, whenever a player is in Boucher’s situation, they have to evaluate their options. They could keep going and try everything they can to make the NHL full-time, or stay in the AHL if that doesn’t work out. Or, they could make a move over to Europe. Finally, they can call it quits and pursue a regular career as long as they are still young.

The latter is obviously the worst-case scenario, but those are thoughts running through young fringe NHL players’ heads.

Next: 5 European UFAs to Target

Luckily for Boucher, it probably won’t get that far. The winger has now played in 16 games for the Canucks, and he is finally getting a real shot in the world’s best hockey league.

Most importantly, though, he’s earned it. Which means we’ll probably see him there for many years to come.

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