Have you ever been at a job where you worked so hard and thought you deserved a promotion but never got it?

Reid Boucher currently leads the AHL in points, having scored 21 goals in 25 games for the Utica Comets, and he’s continuing to make a case that he should be given a shot at the NHL. He has been developing into an all-situations player for the Comets, which is exactly what his critics have always wanted to see. For those reasons, I decided to include some examples of his very successful AHL season between each paragraph in this article.

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Reid Boucher has arguably the best shot in the AHL. He has been one of the best penalty killers on the Utica Comets this season. His counting stats obviously pop off the page, but he also averages more than four shots a game and has looked like the leader on and off the ice for this Comets team.

Whenever the Comets need a goal, Reid Boucher is there to score it. Take notice of the score in these clips. Reid Boucher is there to expand on one goal leads, tie the game or break a tie. His passing ability is excellent as well. Boucher has 14 assists to go with his 20 goals this year. If “clutch” really exists, than no one in the AHL is more of a clutch player than Reid Boucher.

He has looked to have worked on his offseason training this season. I speak with Cory Hergott on a weekly basis with his “Ridin’ the Bus” segment on my show. He was at training camp this year and mentioned that Boucher was looking like a different player off the ice.

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Reid Boucher looks like a different player…he’s much leaner looking this year. — Comets Cory (@CoryHergott) September 15, 2019

Boucher has been given a shot with the Canucks in the past. He played 20 games for the team during the 2017-18 season, spending the bulk of that time with Nic Dowd and a 21-year-old Jake Virtanen. He has quietly gone down to the AHL and scored at a record pace. He has been in the same spot on the power play for years because he has an elite shot at the AHL level that’s already earned him 6 power play goals.

17th of the season for Reid Boucher! pic.twitter.com/y9UJoli6Jw — Utica Comets (@UticaComets) December 8, 2019

Boucher has taken a lot of shots this season but he has also been very accurate with those shots. According to Cody Severtson’s Comets report cards, 68% of his attempted shots are hitting the net. Cody has also frequently made note of Boucher’s penalty killing in his report cards:

“Boucher’s ability to strip the puck off his opponents is second to none. Of all the PK mainstays, Boucher is tied with Lukas Jasek and Wacey Hamilton for short-handed goals and leads all penalty-killing forwards with 17 shot-attempts while short-handed”.

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In spite of Boucher’s high-end toolbox, there are obviously still elements of his game that have kept him out of the NHL. Boucher has a knack for getting the puck in dangerous scoring positions, but it’s important to note that he benefits from the slower style of play at the AHL level. The NHL is a much faster game. In the AHL you will get some easy matchups and making the jump to an NHL top six would be a tough transition for any hockey player. That having been said, with Josh Leivo apparently sidelined for quite some time, Boucher may yet get his shot- especially if another injury occurs. For now, he will continue to score goals at a record pace in the minors and wait patiently for an opportunity to arise in Vancouver.





