Canucks' Bourdon was avid golfer, jokester
Promising defenceman loved having fun as much as living dream as NHLer, says uncle
Last Updated: Friday, May 30, 2008 | 6:46 PM AT
CBC Sports
Luc Bourdon's uncle, Robert Boucher, talks to reporters Friday in Shippagan, N.B., as RCMP Inspector Roch Fortin looks on. (Mario Landry/Canadian Press)Robert Boucher loved playing a round of golf with his nephew, budding NHL player Luc Bourdon, once the fishing season ended in Shippagan, N.B.
He loved the friendly competition, Bourdon's humour and the 21-year-old's love of life.
"Luc always had a dream, which was to join the National Hockey League," Boucher, sporting a Vancouver Canucks ball cap, told reporters at a news conference in Shippagan on Friday.
Bourdon's life ended Thursday while riding a motorcycle, something the young Canucks defenceman also cherished.
Police in New Brunswick said Bourdon was driving his sleek Suzuki GSX-R1000 that collided with an oncoming transport truck on a road between Lameque and his hometown of Shippagan, about 250 kilometres northeast of Fredericton.
At the same news conference, RCMP Insp. Roch Fortin said Bourdon only got his motorcycle licence two weeks ago.
On Thursday, Kent Hughes — Bourdon's agent — told Hockey Night in Canada Radio on Sirius satellite radio that his client purchased the motorcycle two days before the accident. Many of Bourdon's friends in Shippagan also own motorcycles.
Fortin noted it was windy on Thursday and a sudden gust may have pushed Bourdon into the truck's path.
An excellent skater with good offensive instincts, Bourdon was thought by many hockey observers to have a bright future in the National Hockey League.
New Jersey Devils coach Brent Sutter coached Bourdon in 2006 with the Canadian national junior team, which won a gold medal at the world championship in Vancouver.
"Luc was a very intense person," Sutter told CBC News. "He was kind of like a young colt, so much energy in him, so much excitement in him."
Away from the rink, Bourdon loved to have fun like most young men, hanging out with friends and playing poker.
"He was definitely a big video game guy and a lot of guys would do that with him and go see movies," goaltender Drew MacIntyre, Bourdon's teammate with the American Hockey League's Manitoba Moose, told CBCSports.ca. "He was fun to be around."
A sociable and free-spirited guy, Bourdon often would tell good jokes, said McIntyre, 24.
"He was a goof. Sometimes it might have even bothered you how much of a goof he was," said McIntyre, an unrestricted free agent July 1. "He didn't let the stress [of the game] get to him too much."
Added Boucher: "He liked to be crazy and do crazy things. He played jokes on people.
"His aunt would call him to go work with her and he would be there five minutes later helping out. He was always ready to help people — people in the family and others."
Death 'huge loss for us': Shippagan mayor
Recently, Bourdon tried to help himself by enrolling in a full-weekend motorcycle course to make sure he knew how to handle a motorcycle, his uncle said.
"That's the first time I saw him having fun since he was 16 [and] hanging out with his friends. He was having a good time," said Boucher, adding Bourdon came home to Shippagan earlier this week for a one-month vacation.
Bourdon, a solid two-way blue-liner, was also starting to adjust to life as an NHL defenceman after splitting time between the Canucks and the Moose this season.
MacIntyre noticed an improvement in Bourdon's game when he returned to Manitoba at the end of the NHL regular season.
"He was definitely smarter with the puck and definitely more of a presence," said MacIntyre. "He had that quiet confidence about his game, and that was nice to have in front of you as a goalie."
Used primarily as an injury fill-in in Vancouver this season, Bourdon managed two goals and a plus-7 rating in 27 games. He also had a nine-game stint in the 2006-07 campaign before being returned to his junior team, the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
"It's a huge loss for us. He was our ambassador in a sense, not only for Shippagan, but for the entire province [of New Brunswick]. He was known across the country," Shippagan Mayor Jonathan Noel said at Friday's news briefing.
Risky behaviour under scrutiny
Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said the team would introduce policies to govern potentially risky behaviour away from the hockey rink.
"I think that when you have young people that need guidance in these areas, everyone feels like they're invincible," said Gillis, a former NHL player agent. "And it isn't like Luc wasn't responsible. But it's just another unfortunate, risky position for anyone to get on a motorcycle at any time."
Gillis stopped short of outlining specifics as to whether motorcycle riding would be banned in future contracts signed by NHL players.
Bourdon, the 10th overall pick at the 2005 NHL entry draft, will be remembered with a moment of silence before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final between the Detroit Red Wings and hometown Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.
"The National Hockey League family grieves with the family, friends and teammates of Luc Bourdon," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. "We send heartfelt condolences to the Vancouver Canucks' organization and the community of Shippagan, N.B.
