The news of Luc Bourdon’s death travelled quickly through a devastated Maritime hockey community yesterday.
Bourdon, a Shippagan, N.B., native, played for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in 2006-07.
“When I got the call, I couldn’t believe it … Everything came to a stop around me,” said Hammonds Plains native Brad Marchand, who won a gold medal as a teammate of Bourdon’s with Canada at the 2007 world junior championship.
“A lot of people are mourning over his death. A lot of people had a lot of love for him. A lot of people cared for him. And a lot of people are going to miss him greatly.”
Marchand, who was traded for Bourdon in a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League transaction in 2006, remembered Bourdon as “an unbelievable hockey player, very gifted.”
“He was one of those defencemen you hate to play against but you love to have on your team.”
Eagles president Paul MacDonald called Bourdon a “very quiet, reserved young man” and a “very good teammate.”
“Although he was in Cape Breton for a very short time, he enjoyed his time here and he was a true professional,” MacDonald said. “He loved playing hockey, he loved his teammates, and he loved his hometown and his family. It is a sad day.”
