Scouting Report
EVALUATED 29/03/2024
Donesh Mazloum
Regional Scout - Western Canada
Boychuk had a strong tournament for NAX, leading the team with nine points in five games and serving as the focal point for the top line. His ability to quarterback play and dominate possession is unmatched at this level and at his best he has an untouchable aura. He is so adept at slowing the play down, protecting the puck with his sturdy frame, and punishing overzealous defenders with his elite hands, that over time defenders seem to abandon aggressive play against him and sit back in a defensive shell. He isn’t the biggest player, but he is a menace on the cycle as he is clever with his stick work, making him so tough to strip of possession, and his over the shoulder feel for pressure and vision for linemates means he is constantly dictating where play is headed. I was also impressed with the consistency of work rate Boychuk showed in this championship. He has an extra level of piss and vinegar that he can tap into from time to time, but he has struggled in past viewings to not also suffer some ebbs in effort. I thought he did well to avoid lapses in focus during these championship games and was a positive force throughout. The next steps for Boychuk will be to continue to add explosiveness to be able to play his cerebral style at higher levels, as well as improve his play without the puck if he wants to stick at the centre ice position.
Scouting Report
EVALUATED 19/10/2022
Joel Henderson
Director of Scouting
Riley Boychuk has incredible stickhandling to his game which means that his contributions to possession, neutral zone transitioning, and finding teammates after drawing pressure is really high end. He’s one of the most controlled players I’ve seen so far out of the 2008 group as far as puck control, hockey IQ, and diversity of play. It’s tough to take the puck off of him. He hustles on backchecks, uses stick lifts to his advantage, and seems to just have a feel for the flow of the game which is very consistent. He’s listed at 5’10, 145lbs but he does seem even a little smaller than that. Maybe it’s just me. I like his play a lot.
Game Reports
EVALUATED 26/10/2023 Donesh Mazloum
Regional Scout - Western Canada
Boychuk will never be the biggest or fastest player on the ice but his intelligence with the puck is world class. His is so creative and poised with possession and has so many weapons to dissect a defensive structure, creating chance after chance for both himself and teammates. He has fantastic over-the-shoulder feel and will often feign ignorance, baiting the defender to get overaggressive before chipping it past them to create odd-man opportunities. Despite his modest stature he is so difficult to strip of possession and really excels down low along the wall. There was a play on the penalty kill where he dangled the puck deep in Manitoba’s zone wasting a significant amount of time while the opposition struggled to regain possession despite having three players to just Boychuk.
Player Card
- All Data is derived via 5v5 per 60 minutes rate displayed in percentile format.
- Data Courtesy of In Slat.
SIGNED:
Prince Albert Raiders
16/05/2023
TEAM PREDICTION
TIMELINE
- 2023
16/05/2023
Prince Albert Raiders sign Riley Boychuk
- 2023
11/05/2023
Prince Albert Raiders sign Riley Boychuk in the WHL Bantam Draft