2024 NHL Draft Profile: Sacha Boisvert

When I am making a list of the prospects I want to profile ahead of the draft, I am keeping where Toronto picks in mind. Not only that, I'm not just focusing on players that I personally like and find interesting, but I also include some players that I think fit what Toronto seems to look for in a prospect.

Sacha Boisvert is a prospect that I think fits both criteria. Boisvert is a prospect I quite like, and I also think he's the kind of player that Toronto would like. Mostly because he seems to profile a lot (but not exactly) like Fraser Minten in terms of his strengths and weaknesses.

So let's talk about him!

THE BASICS: STATS AND CONTEXT

• Position: Left-Shot Center
• League(s): USHL
• Height: 6'2"
• Weight: 183 lbs
• Birthdate: March 17th, 2006

Here are his draft rankings, as of writing this:

• Bob McKenzie: 22nd
• Will Scouch: 35th
• Elite Prospects: 21st
• Scott Wheeler: 24th
• Future Considerations: 21st
• Dobber Prospects: 23rd
• McKeen's Hockey: 28th

Boisvert is following an increasingly popular path for Canadian prospects – rather than playing in the CHL until they're ready to turn pro, he is instead going the USHL and NCAA route. Despite being a top prospect in the QMJHL draft, he was lured to play for Muskegon and committed to North Dakota. He had a strong rookie season last year with 17 goals and 45 points in 57 games.

This season, Boisvert returned to Muskegon and has played as their 1C all season while being used in all situations. He is 11th in the league in total points (64) as of writing this, and 5th in goals (34). If you only include U18 players, he moves to 5th in points and 2nd in goals. He's also among the league leaders in both power-play (23) and short-handed points (3).

Boisvert is used heavily, and as a 17-year-old, top-line center has helped Muskegon to the fourth-best record in the league with the 3rd best offense.

THE GOOD: TWO-WAY, DUAL-THREAT POTENTIAL

Watching Boisvert, I could see just how much potential he has in almost every area of the game. His standout skill that projects to the NHL the most is his shot. It's hard, heavy, quick and accurate. He has the ability to rip it on the power play similar to what we've seen Fraser Minten do in the WHL the past two years. I actually like Boisvert's shot a bit more, especially his ability to blast a one timer, compared to Minten at the same age

That said, Boisvert also flashes some nifty playmaking and puck handling ability. However, this seems something that's mostly projection at this point rather than reflective of his current ability like his shot. Some of it is down to some slight consistency issues, but there are also some mechanical and skill issues still to be developed.

I've seen some scouts remark that Boisvert likes to use a longer stick, which does help him in some areas (like defense) but does also affect his ability to stick handle in tight quarters. This can be something he works on – either adjusting the length of his stick slightly to strike the right balance, or working on other skills to compensate. And regardless of the limitation it might impose, it doesn't affect his ability to stick handle at a pretty high level right now.

From what I've seen, he definitely has quick hands and this doesn't just stand out when he is trying to deke around defenders. The best I've seen from him is his lightning quick reactions when he is receiving a pass, to both receive a pass clean even if it's not right on his tape and then immediately either pull a move, shoot it, or pass it somewhere else.

From Joey Padmanabhan at Elite Prospects:

A deft playmaker, Boisvert is exceptional at making passes through defensive layers off the rush. He’s got some deception with the puck, separating his upper and lower body to manipulate sticks and feet to open up ice.

THE FLAWS: SKATING, DYNAMIC OFFENSE

The two main flaws that Boisvert will have to work on will be his skating and some of the issues I mentioned above with the consistency and high-level ability for his passing and puck handling.

For his skating, I want to be clear this isn't a major concern. From what I've seen he has good acceleration and straight line speed, but isn't the most agile or explosive if he has to suddenly change directions. I've seen many scouts point out some mechanical red flags in his skating stride and footwork that likely contributes to these issues, but given his age and size I think he could improve enough to the point that he's at least an average NHL skating.

The issues in regards to his dynamic skill with the puck are things I'm less certain about. In some ways it's similar to Fraser Minten, again. While it's nice to think that a player can just get better when it comes to these skills, there is no guarantee that they will. I am more confident in his ability to become a higher-end playmaker than I am in him as a puck handler, for what that's worth. And while I don't think that Boisvert will ever be a bad offensive player in passing the puck or handling it, I do think it's far more likely that he becomes more of a "simple but effective" sort of guy than your flashy offensive dynamo.

A smaller flaw has to do with his overall consistency. I've seen some scouts remark that while he can look very good for stretches, he has periods where he disappears and has no real effectiveness on the ice. That's something that can linger, but is also fixable.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

I like Boisvert quite a bit. After doing enough of these profiles the past few years, I know the "types" that I like and he definitely ticks a lot of my boxes. I'm not too concerned about the flaws that he has – I'm woefully ignorant on diagnosing or understanding skating mechanics, but from what I've seen he doesn't have major issues getting around the ice.

Boisvert has some enticing projection as a center with a bit of everything: size, speed, physicality, and skill. He could play a power game along the boards or more around the perimeter as a shooter and (to a lesser extent) playmaker. He seems to have promise as a reliable two-way center with good positioning. His package is one that will be enticing for NHL teams, but all season his draft rankings have hovered around the same point in the low/mid 20's. That's pretty much in the tier of prospect rankings that includes Toronto's pick.

The fact is, when you're talking about players that may be available in this range, you're talking about prospects who are good but have flaws. Whether or not Boisvert will fall to Toronto depends a lot on what the teams picking ahead of them think. They may like other prospects more than him, or they think they can fix another player's flaws easier than his. There does seem to be more of these kinds of players in this range than in year's past. I could (and do) write about a lot of players who really intrigue me, and others I could also write about but won't have enough time. For me this is great, because it means one of them will be available when Toronto picks!

And if that one is Boisvert, and that's who Toronto picks, I would be quite happy.

Thanks for reading!

I put a lot of work into my prospect articles here, both for the draft and Toronto's prospects. I do it as a fun hobby for me, and I'd probably do it in some capacity even if PPP completely ceased to exist. But if you like reading my work, some support would go a long way! I pay for a few streaming services (CHL, NCAA, USHL, the occasional TSN options for international tournaments that are broadcast) to be able to reliably watch these prospects in good quality streams. I also pay for some prospect-specific resources, such as tracking data and scouting reports from outlets like Elite Prospects, Future Considerations, McKeen's Hockey, The Athletic, and more.

Being able to get paid for this helps me dedicate more time and resources to it, rather than to second/third jobs. And whatever money I make here, a lot of I reinvest back into my prospect work through in those streaming and scouting services. Like I said, I'd be doing whatever I can afford for this anyway, so any financial help I get through this is greatly appreciated!