Dallas Stars rookie forward Mavrik Bourque set high expectations for himself as he played his way to league MVP honors with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League (AHL) last season.
His performance earned him a call-up to the NHL club during the Stanley Cup playoffs. He then solidified a permanent spot in Dallas’ lineup during the offseason. Because of the quick and significant impact young players like Wyatt Johnston have made in recent years, many fans expected Bourque to follow suit.
While it hasn’t gone that way so far, the Dallas Stars still believe Bourque can develop into a standout player for the franchise.
“He has a world-class hockey IQ,” Stars assistant coach Steve Spott told the media of Bourque earlier this season. “I think the league will start slowing down for him at this level like it did in the American Hockey League, but it takes time. It takes some players a little longer, but he’s a tremendous pro off the ice. He’s a sponge when it comes to learning and wanting to get better. He’s doing everything right.”
Mavrik Bourque’s Progress
A first-round draft pick in 2020, Bourque appeared in one game last season, seeing 10:56 of ice time. This year, he found himself as a bottom-six forward, ideally adding even more offensive ability alongside Jamie Benn and Logan Stankoven on Dallas’ third line. However, Bourque has begun to see playing time with the first line and on the power play because of injuries and a recent flu bug.
While he has never struggled to score at any level, he has just six points (two goals and four assists) in 26 games. He scored his first NHL goal on Nov. 1 against Florida during the NHL Global Series in Finland, but did not find the net again until Dec. 6. He has an assist in two games with the top line, so maybe playing with Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson can give him a jolt.
“It’s just a matter of time for Mav,” Spott added. “You can’t teach what he has. He’s going to be an elite NHL player. It just, unfortunately, takes some players a bit longer, but we’re fine with that.”
Adjusting to Scoring Struggles
Dallas may have been fine with that initially, but recent scoring struggles have amplified the need for other players to step up. The Stars wanted Bourque to focus on adjusting to the NHL game and finding the consistency to become a permanent fixture in the lineup, especially after he spent part of the offseason battling an injury. However, he is now as good a candidate as any to fill a void.
He began to impress late last month in a loss to the Anaheim Ducks and seems to have continued to earn the coaching staff’s trust.
“For me, it’s the first game he kind of popped,” head coach Pete DeBoer said of Bourque after the loss to Anaheim. “He looked like he had some jump. He looked like he had some confidence with the puck — carrying it. That line was our best line by far in the first period, so we wanted to reward them. He was going tonight. That’s good because, through 12 to 15 games here, we hadn’t seen enough of that. It was good to see tonight.”
Bourque’s Impact
While Bourque’s offence has yet to truly display itself in the NHL, he has found other ways to help the team. He became an essential part of the Stars’ penalty kill, displaying the attributes of a future quality two-way player. Defence was an area where the Stars struggled last season before acquiring defenceman Chris Tanev at the trade deadline, and they will need to continue to grow in that area this season to excel in the system they run.
“That’s a huge foundation, especially playing for Pete DeBoer,” Spott explained. “That’s a foundational piece. You have to be trusted when you’re on the ice. Mav’s fully trusted every time he’s out there. I just think, for him and all young offensive players, you want to produce at the other end of the ice, and that’s going to come.”
Given recent events, the Stars can be pleased with Bourque’s progress, but they better hope he starts filling the stat sheet and proves to be a legitimate scoring threat soon.
Main Photo: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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