Bouchard catches Coffey at 50 assists by an Edmonton Oilers ...

It’s no secret Evan Bouchard is a live-by-the-gun, die-by-the-gun sort of defenceman.

The Edmonton Oilers knew exactly what they were getting when they brought the six-foot-three, 192-pound right-handed shot onto their blue line.

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And make no mistake, it’s an absolute shotgun.

But that’s only part of the offensive arsenal that brought Bouchard to the frontlines of the season, where the 24-year-old took a run at history by recording his 50th assist in Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens.

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In doing so, he became the only Oilers defenceman other than Paul Coffey to reach that milestone.

Of course, Bouchard would have to do it again five times over in order to fill the rather large shoes left behind by the Hall of Fame defenceman. And that was before going on to record 50 assists another eight more times elsewhere over a 21-year career.

But it’s something no defenceman has been able to do around here for the past 36 years.

Until now.

“That’s a great milestone,” said Coffey, a four-time Stanley Cup champion who returned as part of Kris Knoblauch’s coaching staff to the blue lines he once patrolled as a player in Edmonton. “Let’s hope that’s 50-plus every year for the rest of Bouch’s career.

“He’s that good of a player. He’s as headsy as there is out there, there’s a lot of good offensive defencemen that play the game and he sees the ice very well.”

Perhaps it should come as no surprise Bouchard is really coming into his own under the tutelage of a legendary Oilers player who wrote the book on offensive defencemen. But Coffey doesn’t exactly see himself, as the saying goes, in Bouchard.

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“I mean, I guess points-wise, yeah. But, no,” Coffey said. “We carry the stick a different way. He’s got a bullet of a shot. I was a little bit more of a skater, but the thing that excites me most about him is he’s only going to get better.

“Because I’m not only pushing him, we all are pushing him. Plus he pushes himself. In a good way.”

Bouchard has barged his way to 15 goals to go along with those 50 helpers, giving him 65 points in 66 games so far. It’s already the most points in a season by an Oilers defencemen not named Coffey (who singlehandedly leads the list with seasons of 138, 126, 121, 96, 89 and 67 points). And Bouchard’s done it in a year where much of the focus has been placed on improving team defence, limiting odd-man rushes and goals-against.

“I think he’s, what? Plus-25? That counts for something,” Coffey said. “And a guy like Evan, which is I guess somewhat the way I played it, it’s kind of a risk-management game. I said that right off the hop once I took this position, as long as the reward far outweighs the risk, we’re going to have a good time here.

“He’s easy to take runs at, defensively, because he has the puck so much, but he’s a damn good player. He works both ends of the ice and he’s a pleasure to coach.”

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As for watching him, those in the stands and on television have certainly sat through their share of growing pains by the young defenceman. When times are good, everyone’s applauding the offensive results. When they’re not, it’s easy to point the finger at his defensive duties.

“He will (grow), he’s still a young guy. He’s maturing into himself between the ears. Maturing into his game,” Coffey said. “As long as the good far outweighs the bad, Evan’s going to be a star for years to come and for me, personally, we ain’t seen nuthin’ yet.”

Bouchard is currently tied for third in team scoring with forward Zach Hyman, who has 65 points (46 goals, 19 assists) in 65 games and has been making headlines in his hunt for his first 50-goal season.

Of course, Hyman probably wouldn’t be having quite the year he has if it weren’t for the forward-thinking efforts of Bouchard, both on the power play and 5-on-5.

“One of the best defencemen in the league, I think. Just steady improvement from him every year,” Hyman said. “And I think this year, he’s really taken that next leap into the upper echelon of two-way defencemen.

“I think he’s underrated in the way that he can break the puck out and then play defensively. And then offensively, he’s got one of the hardest shots in the league and makes plays consistently. So, he’s just really fun to have on your team.”

E-mail: [email protected]

On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge

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