Everyone of us has a moment in our lives where something of importance happens, and we will always remember exactly where we were when we heard the news.
The day was May 29th, and I was on a ferry with my girlfriend heading to Vancouver to see the Killswitch Engage concert. It was a gorgeous day out, and I had been looking forward to the trip for weeks.
And then I got a text message from my buddy Shaun that ruined my entire day.
Luc Bourdon had passed away after a tragic crash on his motorcycle.
He was 21.
I remember sitting there on the ferry in disbelief, as if it wasn't true. To some people, they would say "big deal, its not like you knew him", but this was different.
I remember the day he got drafted, I was watching anxiously at my mom's house. When Dave Nonis stepped to the podium and called his name at 10th overall, I'll admit, I didn't know much about him. But all it took for me to become a believer was a 30 second speech by Pierre Mcguire on TSN telling Canucks fans what type of player Luc was, and that we should all be very, very excited.
Right away I was extatic, as he was exactly the type of player that I idolize. A skilled, big, mean defenceman that loves to throw bone crushing open-ice hits.
I remember following him and his epic head to head battles with Gilbert Brule on his road to the Memorial Cup, eventually losing in the finals to the Quebec Ramparts.
Bourdon also played a big role in helping Team Canada win back-to-back gold medals at the World Junior Championships in 2006 and 2007. He was even named to the tournament all-star team on defence in 2006. It was here where one of his most famous images was captured on TV, his classic "wink" to the camera while having his gold medal proudly displayed around his neck.
One of my alltime favourite Bourdon moments was during the 2006 World Jr's, when TSN's Pierre Mcguire explained to the fans at home that the Vancouver fans were not yelling "booooooooooo", but "luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc". To this day me and a couple buddies still use that line. (I am almost offended when Canucks fans cheer Louuuuuuu for Roberto Luongo, as this chant should be Luc's)
Luc then went on to play for the Manitoba Moose, and finally the Canucks. It should have been this year that he finally secured his full time spot with the club, but it just wasn't meant to be.
As I said before, Luc wasn't just a regular Canucks player to me. The cool thing was that I had him on Facebook, and I actually talked to him quite a bit about hockey, and he was always willing to talk. He wasn't a cocky hockey player or anything, but just a regular guy. I remember everytime I talked to him, he always used a lot of exclamation marks haha.
So when I heard of his crash, it kind of hit me a little bit different, as he was my favourite player, and someone I had actually talked to a bit. Now i'm not trying to say him and I were good buddies, because I had never actually met him, but he was nice enough to at least take the time to talk hockey with me, and I really appreciated that.
When I found out the Canucks were going to honor him during their first game, I thought it was awesome. And then about three nights before the game, a good buddy of mine called me and asked if I wanted to come to the game with him, as he had noone to go with. I swear the stars were aligned that night because this is the one game in my entire life that I would have done anything to see live.
The ceremony before the game was amazing, as Tom Cochrane performed "Big league", which was always a favourite of mine growing up. The presentation was very well done, and I can honestly say I was fighting back the tears. Coupled with the fact that Alex Burrows, Bourdon's best friend on the team, went on to score 2 goals, and the Canucks beat the Flames 6-0 to start the season, it was a pretty special night. The night couldn't have been any better in my opinion, as the dominant performance over their arch-rivals was a fitting tribute to their fallen teammate. Also, to make things even better, we all recieved LB pins, which I put on the jersey of my Build-a-bear who sits on my bead at home, which I have named Luc "Bear"don in his honor.
So in closing, I just wanted to say that Luc was a great player and teammate, as well as someone who enjoyed giving back to his community, and he will be greatly missed.
Luc, you will always be remembered as a Vancouver Canuck.
Now, for some of Bourdon's highlights:
Great play by the kid
Good Canadian boy
Sick moves
Canucks Tribute
Moose Tribute
Don Cherry Tribute
RIP
Luc Bourdon 1987-2008
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