Fan In Van

Remembering Luc Bourdon

I should be perfectly honest. I wasn’t a huge fan of Luc Bourdon from the moment the Vancouver Canucks drafted him with the tenth overall pick in 2005. As a rabid armchair GM to the core I was angry that the Canucks had passed up Anze Kopitar for a QMJHL defenceman whom I’d never heard of.

But Bourdon was a player who was intent on proving his critics wrong. As an 18-year old entering his first NHL training camp in 2006, Bourdon was outstanding; in fact, Bourdon played the game so well in September that he was one of the final cuts, just barely missing the grade. He captured the attention of all Canuck fans and demonstrated that he was a can’t-miss NHL star in the making. It was then that I realized that perhaps this young , lanky defenceman from Shippagan, New Brunswick had a chance to really make a name for himself in the NHL.

In the eyes of some fans, Bourdon was simply another one of “those guys”, in the sense that he was just another piece of the puzzle to win a Stanley Cup. But in reality, there was a lot more to Luc Bourdon than just speed, skill and size. Luc was a young 21-year old who loved the game with the passion of all Canadian kids, enjoying every moment he was out on that sheet of ice. He was a shy guy away from the rink; as a French-Canadian in a western Canadian city, he was sort of like the new transfer student entering a classroom full of foreign faces. But Bourdon was taken in to the Canuck organization with open arms, learning the inner workings of his profession from various veteran faces.

After being dismissed from training camp in 2006, Bourdon finished up his junior career highlighted with a trip to the elusive Memorial Cup with the Moncton Wildcats and two World Junior Championships with Canada which resulted in two Gold Medals. When he turned 20, the Vancouver Canucks assigned him to the American Hockey League to play with the Manitoba Moose.

But opportunity knocked for Luc Bourdon again in November 2007 and his stint with the Moose did not last long. Following two injuries to the Vancouver Canucks’ blueline, the team recalled Luc Bourdon to which he would play for the rest of the season with the team.

It took 15 NHL games, but on November 16th, in a game against the Minnesota Wild, Luc Bourdon received a pass from teammate Byron Ritchie at the point on a powerplay and rifled a slapshot past goaltender Nicklas Backstrom for his first NHL goal. It is the highlight of every kid in his first NHL season to score your first NHL goal, and as a defenceman, Luc Bourdon did it in high fashion. He would go on to score one more goal in his professional career.

This past NHL season gave Vancouver Canuck fans hope in regards to Luc Bourdon. We were able to see glimmers of hope and potential emanating from the man we had come to call “Cool Hand Luc”. There was a certain aura about Luc Bourdon that allowed me to feel confident we had a bright future with him at the forefront of the Canuck defence.

Luc Bourdon symbolized what every Canuck player should strive to be. He was hard-working, courageous with a never-ending desire to play the game. He didn’t object to watching the game from the stands, nor did he object when he was placed on the bench in crucial situations. He was just a man who wanted to surround himself in the game. And at 21 years of age, he was taken far too soon. It is an absolute shame that we as Canuck fans will never be able to realize what kind of player Luc might have become.

He will be missed. Not just for the player he was, but for the person he was beginning to become. Luc Bourdon loved the game more than life itself, and there is little doubt in my mind that he’s playing the game upstairs.

Goodbye Luc. Rest in peace.