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Ottawa Senators sign Boston’s Tyler Boucher to three-year, entry-level contract

A boy in a blue, red, and white hockey jersey, and a blue hockey helmet, stands looking to the right.
The Ottawa Senators announced on Tuesday that Tyler Boucher of the Boston University Terriers, pictured above, would join the team in January. Photo by Tyler Boucher/USA Hockey Arena.
Meara Belanger - CHUO - Ottawa • ON | 30-12-2021
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The Ottawa Senators signed Tyler Boucher to a three-year entry-level contract on Tuesday.

In a press release, the Sens announced that Boucher was contracted after being selected as their first-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.

Sens General Manager Pierre Dorion said in the press release that Boucher, son of former NHL goalie Brian Boucher, is a player to be reckoned with.

“We're pleased to have Tyler under contract," says Dorion. "He's a power forward who plays a heavy, physical game. He's driven, is strong with the puck, has a big shot and goes hard to the net. His good hands in tight areas will be of particular benefit to him going forward. We expect him to be an important part of this team's future.”

The 18-year-old Haddonfield, N.J. native was in the middle of his first season with the Boston University Terriers. One of the youngest players in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Boucher played in 17 of 18 games this season, scoring two goals and one assist.

A boy wearing a black suit jacket over a white collared shirt with a red tie sits against a marbled grey background, looking into the camera.

18-year-old Tyler Boucher, above, was the Sens' first-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. Photo by USA National Hockey League.

Boucher was the tenth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and is expected to play for the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s come January.

Dorion says the young player struggled at the college level, but this is a chance for him to play with teammates his own age.

“It's very tough for a lot of freshmen in college,” says Dorion. “A lot of times you're playing against guys that are 22, 23 years old, they're physically so much more mature than you are, even though Tyler physically is very mature. I think a lot of times the college mantra is that they give a lot of ice time and opportunities and power plays… to juniors and seniors. And Tyler was a freshman this year.”

Dorion says Boucher started thinking about leaving school about a month ago. According to him, 67’s Coach David Cameron and Sens’ Development Coach Shean Donovan were consulted during conversations with Boucher concerning his athletic future.

“In early December [we] ended up talking with his agent, his family advisor at the time, and they just felt that… going the 67’s route was the best option,” says Dorion.

Boucher tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, and is tentatively assigned to the Sens’ affiliate AHL team in Belleville until Jan. 6, after which he will be permitted to enter Canada. Boucher will then be assigned to the Ottawa 67’s.

Dorion says the reason for the temporary assignment was so Boucher would have an opportunity to play games “in case the OHL shuts down.”

The NHL has postponed several games this month due to the reintroduction of capacity limits in some Canadian cities following the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. On Sunday, they announced the reintroduction of “taxi squads,” which permit each team to keep an emergency lineup of up to six players in case any of the players in the existing lineup tests positive for COVID-19.

The Sens are set to play their last game of the year against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Canadian Tire Centre on Friday.

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