Quote:
Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher
I like Bouma. IMO he's a 4th liner who can fill on the 3rd line. So his ceiling is pretty low. He's almost a lock to make the big team this year however. Not sure I'd even consider him a prospect still.
|
Much like Backlund, Horak, and Brodie; Bouma's early ice time in the NHL was spent on 3rd & 4th lines (or bottom pairing) in order to limit the teams exposure to rookie mistakes. Once the coach is completely confident in the players professional 2 way game their roles are expanded and the real tryouts for top line/pairing and special teams begin. I think Horak has put in his time and will be given opportunities to play top 6, Brodie grabbed the reins of top 4 by the end of last season and this season I think Bouma will earn a permanent/prominant spot on the 3rd line as a capable shutdown player against other teams top lines. Delegating that shutdown responsibility to a reliable, fast, in-your-face young guy that could be part of a winning nucleus is why a guy like Bouma is a better prospect than journeyman FA's or players added through trade.
If I look into my crystal ball with rose coloured glasses I see the Flames winning the cup in 2016 (or 17 or 18) with Monahan, Goudreau, Baertschi, Gilles, and Wotherspoon getting all the credit meanwhile the next offseason Bouma (despite a statistically great playoffs) gets the short end of the stick on the resigning priority list and the Flames inexplicably aren't as dominant thereafter. Effective 3 line anchors are not as easy to find as it would seem, I see Bouma's value as potentially one of those anchors.