Luc Bourdon

Lore & Background

Luc Bourdon was born an only child and raised by his mother, Suzanne Boucher, in the French-speaking town of Shippagan on the Acadian Peninsula. At age nine he was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis and needed a wheelchair, which he later overcame. As a teenager he was a straight-A student at École Marie-Esther and worked summers on his uncle's crab fishing boat. He played in the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament three times with the Peninsule Acadien Lynx and later with the Miramichi Rivermen. After being drafted third overall in the 2003 QMJHL draft, he left home at 16. Upon signing his first professional contract, he anonymously donated C$10,000 to the local minor hockey association for families who could not afford equipment; the donation was revealed posthumously by his former bantam coach.

Bourdon joined the Val-d'Or Foreurs for the 2003–04 season and played all 70 games in 2004–05, scoring 13 goals and 19 assists. He participated in the CHL Top Prospects Game and was selected 10th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2005 NHL entry draft. After nearly making the Canucks as an 18-year-old, he was returned to the QMJHL. In 2005–06 he was traded to the Moncton Wildcats, who hosted the Memorial Cup, but shortly after the trade he suffered a fractured fibula, high and low sprains, and a second-degree ligament tear in his ankle. He returned for the playoffs and reached the CHL final, which Moncton lost 6–2 to the Quebec Remparts. He signed a three-year contract with the Canucks on May 4, 2006, and made the opening roster for 2006–07, playing his first NHL game on October 10, 2006, against the Minnesota Wild. After nine games without a point, he was sent back to the QMJHL, where he was traded to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. He finished the 2006–07 QMJHL season with 20 points in 36 games and later played five AHL playoff games for the Manitoba Moose. In 2007–08 he began with the Moose but was called up several times due to injuries among Canucks defencemen. He scored his first NHL goal on November 16, 2007, against goaltender Niklas Bäckström in a 6–2 win over the Minnesota Wild. He appeared in 27 games for the Canucks that season, scoring one more goal, and added 14 points in 41 games with the Moose. Bourdon was regularly mentioned in trade rumours, most significantly as part of a package for Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brad Richards. Though he had a powerful shot, he did not play defence responsibly enough to earn a regular roster spot, but he began to show improvement and maturity during the 2007–08 season.

Reader's Guide

Luc Bourdon's significance lies in his promising but tragically short NHL career and his impact on the Vancouver Canucks organization and his hometown. Drafted 10th overall in 2005, he was viewed as a physical two-way defenceman with offensive skills and a strong shot, and he represented Canada in three international tournaments, winning two World Junior gold medals and a World U18 silver. His death at age 21 in a motorcycle crash on May 29, 2008, shocked the hockey world. The American Hockey League observed a moment of silence in his honour prior to game one of the Calder Cup Finals. Bourdon's legacy includes his anonymous donation of C$10,000 to his local minor hockey association to help families afford equipment, a gesture revealed only after his death. His close friend and former roommate Kris Letang had planned to buy a motorcycle after Bourdon told him about his, but decided against it because of the crash. Bourdon's career was marked by his ability to overcome childhood arthritis and his steady development as a defenceman, though he never fully secured a regular NHL roster spot. His memory is preserved by the Canucks and the hockey community as a young player whose potential was never fully realized.

Did You Know?

• Bourdon was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis at age nine and needed a wheelchair before overcoming the condition.
• He was the second Shippagan-born player drafted into the NHL, after goaltender Yanick Degrace in 1991.