Post by IAMCAPER on Jan 11, 2007 22:00:10 GMT -4
Luc Bourdon had no idea he was going to be traded by the Moncton Wildcats but says he’s happy to have landed with a championship-calibre club.
The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles acquired the highly regarded defenceman from the Wildcats in a deadline day deal Monday in return for promising 16-year-old defenceman Mark Barberio and a first-round pick in the 2007 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft.
“I went to have lunch at my grandmother’s and when I came home my mom told me the news,” said Bourdon, who was traded to Moncton by the Val d’Or Foreurs at this time last season. “I was surprised because I didn’t really expect it but being traded is part of the game. I’m glad to be going to Cape Breton because they have a good team. I think it’s going to be interesting.”
Cape Breton fans anxious to see Bourdon in an Eagles jersey will have to be patient. Traditionally, players from Canada’s World junior team receive a week or so off following the tournament because they don’t get a break at Christmas. So Bourdon won’t be reporting until Monday while he recovers from his month-long journey helping Canada win its third straight gold medal.
“I was a little bit worn down and jet lag,” said Bourdon, who arrived back in Canada, Saturday. “I was a little sick when I got back too so it’s good for me to get a few days rest.”
Since Bourdon won’t be reporting until Monday he won’t be in the Eagles lineup when they host the Acadie-Bathurst Titan for back-to-back games, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., at Centre 200. But they will have him for an important four-game road trip next week that will include games against the Prince Edward Island Rocket Friday, Jan. 19, the Titan Saturday, Jan. 20, and games against the Wildcats Sunday, Jan. 21 and Tuesday, Jan. 23.
He’ll make his home debut Friday, Jan. 26 when the Eagles host the Lewiston Maineiacs. The same teams play again Saturday, Jan. 27.
In Bourdon, the Eagles are getting a proven veteran talent who has already played nine games in the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks, the team that drafted him 10th overall in 2005. He’s won two gold medals at the World junior championship, was an all-star at the 2006 tournament in Vancouver and helped Moncton win its first QMJHL title last season.
He’ll be reunited with some friends when he joins the Eagles. He played with Oskars Bartulis last season in Moncton and has played against and with Dean Ouellet and Jean-Claude Sawyer, who are fellow New Brunswickers.
“Dean is one of my good friends,” said Bourdon, a native of Shippegan, N.B. “I’ve known him since we played peewee ‘AAA’ against each other. We’re pretty close because we’ve played summer hockey together before.”
Bourdon, Ouellet and Sawyer played together on New Brunswick’s Canada Games team in 2003.
“It’s pretty exciting to add a player like Luc,” said Ouellet. “It’s hard to lose a guy like (Mark) Barberio. He’s already a good player and he’s going to be a great player in this league. But we’re going for (the title) this year and adding a guy like Bourdon and even (Jonathan) Laberge and (Beau) Prokopetz is going to help us. The guys are pretty excited about it.
“I think Luc is going to fit like a glove. The guy has a great attitude. He’s a leader on and off the ice. He’s someone all the guys will want to be around.”
The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles acquired the highly regarded defenceman from the Wildcats in a deadline day deal Monday in return for promising 16-year-old defenceman Mark Barberio and a first-round pick in the 2007 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft.
“I went to have lunch at my grandmother’s and when I came home my mom told me the news,” said Bourdon, who was traded to Moncton by the Val d’Or Foreurs at this time last season. “I was surprised because I didn’t really expect it but being traded is part of the game. I’m glad to be going to Cape Breton because they have a good team. I think it’s going to be interesting.”
Cape Breton fans anxious to see Bourdon in an Eagles jersey will have to be patient. Traditionally, players from Canada’s World junior team receive a week or so off following the tournament because they don’t get a break at Christmas. So Bourdon won’t be reporting until Monday while he recovers from his month-long journey helping Canada win its third straight gold medal.
“I was a little bit worn down and jet lag,” said Bourdon, who arrived back in Canada, Saturday. “I was a little sick when I got back too so it’s good for me to get a few days rest.”
Since Bourdon won’t be reporting until Monday he won’t be in the Eagles lineup when they host the Acadie-Bathurst Titan for back-to-back games, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., at Centre 200. But they will have him for an important four-game road trip next week that will include games against the Prince Edward Island Rocket Friday, Jan. 19, the Titan Saturday, Jan. 20, and games against the Wildcats Sunday, Jan. 21 and Tuesday, Jan. 23.
He’ll make his home debut Friday, Jan. 26 when the Eagles host the Lewiston Maineiacs. The same teams play again Saturday, Jan. 27.
In Bourdon, the Eagles are getting a proven veteran talent who has already played nine games in the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks, the team that drafted him 10th overall in 2005. He’s won two gold medals at the World junior championship, was an all-star at the 2006 tournament in Vancouver and helped Moncton win its first QMJHL title last season.
He’ll be reunited with some friends when he joins the Eagles. He played with Oskars Bartulis last season in Moncton and has played against and with Dean Ouellet and Jean-Claude Sawyer, who are fellow New Brunswickers.
“Dean is one of my good friends,” said Bourdon, a native of Shippegan, N.B. “I’ve known him since we played peewee ‘AAA’ against each other. We’re pretty close because we’ve played summer hockey together before.”
Bourdon, Ouellet and Sawyer played together on New Brunswick’s Canada Games team in 2003.
“It’s pretty exciting to add a player like Luc,” said Ouellet. “It’s hard to lose a guy like (Mark) Barberio. He’s already a good player and he’s going to be a great player in this league. But we’re going for (the title) this year and adding a guy like Bourdon and even (Jonathan) Laberge and (Beau) Prokopetz is going to help us. The guys are pretty excited about it.
“I think Luc is going to fit like a glove. The guy has a great attitude. He’s a leader on and off the ice. He’s someone all the guys will want to be around.”