Prospect Profile: Aden Bouchard

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WHL Tri-City Americans

Prospect Profile: Aden Bouchard

May 18, 2025 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Tri-City Americans News Release


Even from a young age, Aden Bouchard has always known what he wanted to be in life.

Growing up in Airdrie, Alberta, a 30-minute drive from the Scotiabank Saddledome in downtown Calgary, Bouchard has vivid memories of watching both Calgary Hitmen and Calgary Flames games as a child.

"I went to a lot of Flames games and Hitmen games," he said. "Watching those games, I always wanted to be out there and that was my dream. Ever since that I've fallen in love with the game, and I wanted to be on the ice."

He says the late Johnny Gaudreau was his favorite player growing up, enamored by Gaudreau's skill and inspired by his play.

Despite his favorite player being a forward, and Bouchard himself being a defenseman, he nearly went down the path of being a lifelong goaltender.

"I kind of played all around the ice," he said. "In Timbits (U7) my parents both thought I was going to be a goalie. Apparently, I was pretty good at it, but one of my friend's dads suggested I should switch positions, so I played forward for a few years. Then I went to the HSL and played with Spartan Hockey Academy, and that's when I switched to defense, and I've stuck with it ever since."

The HSL, or the Hockey Super League, is a league in Alberta that has grown to over 80 teams and 1,300 players since it was founded in 2017.

As he advanced through the HSL and made the jump to U15 AAA with his hometown Airdrie Xtreme, it became quite clear that Bouchard's talent was separating from his peers.

"When I joined the U15 AAA League I had a really good year," he said. "I finished first among 2009-born defensemen in that league. I think that's when I realized I was at that level."

Bouchard recorded 40 points (11-29-40) that season, nine clear of the second highest scoring 2009-born defenseman.

In that league Bouchard said the team would only practice two or three times a week, and for his WHL draft year he was looking for more opportunities to be on the ice working on his game.

Enter the Canadian Sport School Hockey League's Edge Academy in Calgary.

"I was told that the CSSHL had scouts watching basically every single game," he said. "I wanted to play somewhere that I could really showcase my abilities, and that's what led to my decision to go to Edge."

Bouchard says he was on the ice nearly every day at Edge, while also having team workouts in the gym three times a week.

The transition to the CSSHL was a smooth one for Bouchard as he recorded 36 points (9-27-36) in in 27 games, finishing second among 2009-born defensemen. He then posted another 10 points (2-8-10) in five playoff games.

Considered a top prospect for the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft for the entire season, Bouchard had plenty of conversations with just about every team in the WHL during that year.

But there was one he nearly missed, because an email went to his junk folder.

"Tri-City was probably the team I talked to the least actually, because their questionnaire went to my junk folder," he said. "My mom said I should check it just to see if anything important ended up there by accident, so I responded to it about a month late. I saw them at the Alberta Cup and was able to talk to them there, so that made up for it."

Bouchard made quite the statement at the Alberta Cup, a tournament that pits all the top WHL Draft-eligible players in the province against each other.

Not only was he the captain of Team Blue, he scored five goals and added an assist in five games to lead them to a tournament win.

That event took place just over a week before the WHL Draft, and only solidified Bouchard's status as an elite prospect.

While some players have to wait until they see their name announced to know where they get drafted, Bouchard had a strong suspicion he was going to end up a Tri-City American come draft day.

"I was heading home from an ice time in Calgary and my dad was on the phone with my agent," he recalled. "This was two days before the draft, and my agent told us that the Americans were going to take me with the third overall pick. The next day they called again and said it was for sure happening."

Despite having the heads up, he says it still didn't feel real until he heard his name announced by WHL commissioner Dan Near.

"On draft day I was watching it, but I guess my name went up on the website before it was announced," he said. "I got a text from Cruz (Pavao) congratulating me and welcoming me to the team before I even heard it announced. Even though I knew it was coming, it still didn't really feel real. It was like my dream came true. Just to get that opportunity was so amazing."

Playing at Edge, and being a Calgary-area guy, Bouchard already had a strong relationship with Pavao, who the Americans selected in the first round a year earlier. He said when Pavao was called up to the Americans as an affiliate during the 2023-24 season, he watched as much as he could.

After soaking up the experience at his first WHL training camp, and playing in three preseason games, Bouchard returned to Calgary for the 2024-25 season.

Instead of returning to Edge, he switched to the Calgary International Hockey Academy.

"The biggest factor was the coach of the team," he said. "It was the same coach who I had with the Airdrie Xtreme, and we had a really good connection. I thought that would be my best option."

Bouchard's transition to the U18 level, playing against players older than him, was smooth overall as he ended up with 33 points (8-25-33) in 33 games, but it was a late season surge that saw him explode for 16 points (3-13-16) over the final nine games of the year.

"I think about halfway through the year I went into a little bit of a slump," he admitted. "But just because you're not putting up points doesn't mean you're not contributing. Overall, I thought it was a pretty successful year."

Bouchard carried his hot finish to the regular season into the playoffs with three goals and four assists in just three games.

Prior to the CSSHL playoffs starting he was able to join the Americans for two weeks, participating in practice and travelling with them to all road games.

He used that opportunity to focus on what kind of work goes into every day of being a WHL player.

"I just wanted to learn as much as I could," he said. "I really paid attention to what Jackson Smith was doing. He's obviously a highly rated prospect for the NHL Draft and he's so skilled in the offensive zone. On the other end of the ice, I watched Terrell Goldsmith closely because he's such a beast defensively, so good with his stick."

When regular practice time had ended, Bouchard was often seen at one end of the Toyota Center ice with Americans associate coach Jody Hull, working one-on-one together.

"We really focused a lot on my one timer," he said. "Every day we worked on it and at the end of the playoffs he came over to me and said he could see the improvements that we had made with it."

Once his CSSHL playoffs had been completed, Bouchard returned to the Americans in time to make his WHL debut in the final game of the regular season.

"Stu texted me the day before telling me to be ready to go just in case," he said. "Then he texted me again in the morning saying I was in. When I got to the rink I saw my name on the board for the first time."

Bouchard may have one of the more unique WHL debuts in history, as his game only had two periods with it being the continuation of the Americans and Seattle Thunderbirds postponed game from 12 days earlier.

Even though it was a strange game to make his debut in, it was still an unforgettable experience.

"It was a super cool experience," he said. "I think I mainly played with Carter Savage that game, and a little bit with Charlie Elick, those guys are great defensemen and guys I learned a lot from on the bench during the game."

Bouchard plans to focus a lot of his offseason on gaining weight, so he's better prepared to defend against players who are older and bigger than he is.

He's also preparing to play in front of bigger crowds than he ever has before.

"The fans are crazy," he said. "They're so loud and it's great to see how much they care about the Americans. I can't wait to play in front of them."

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