Evan Bouchard to make 2021 season debut tonight against Ottawa

It’s Evan Bouchard time.

According to Jason Gregor, the Oilers will operate with seven defencemen tonight against Ottawa, with Bouchard drawing in and James Neal coming out of the lineup. Ethan Bear will also remain out of the lineup due to the injury he suffered on Saturday against the Leafs.

This will be Bouchard’s first NHL action since the 2018-19 season. The No. 10 overall pick from the 2018 draft cracked Edmonton’s roster as a rookie and got a seven-game cup of coffee before going back down to the London Knights of the OHL.

Between then and now, Bouchard has ripped up Major Junior, he’s put together a full, solid season at the AHL level with the Bakersfield Condors, and he had an excellent 23-game stint in Sweden’s second-best league.

Bouchard has proved himself at every other level, so it’ll be exciting to see how he performs in the big-leagues.