First Shift 🏒

The journey of a scorer in the NHL is usually a pretty squiggly line.

You have to load up on goals in your young hockey days to even get a chance, but then each level makes it harder and harder to score. Mavrik Bourque has gone through that in his career and looks to be making a really good push to take the next step.

Bourque was a first round pick (30th overall) in 2020 and he followed that up with a run of almost two points per game in junior hockey. Bourque tallied a combined 111 points (39 goals, 72 assists) in 59 games for Shawinigan in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. After a bump up to the AHL, he became a leader for the Texas Stars and finished with 77 points (26 goals, 51 assists) in 71 games to win the league scoring title and MVP in 2023-24.

That, of course, led to a spot on the Dallas roster, but the points didn’t come as easy. Bourque had 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in 73 games last season. He was averaging 12:41 per game and finished with 80 shots on goal. This year, he is averaging 14:21 per game and already has 91 shots on goal in 10 fewer games, as well as 10 goals among 20 points.

That’s progress. Even more impressive, he played 17:09 Thursday and had two goals among four shots on net in a 5-4 shootout win at Vegas. The 24-year-old has been given a chance to play with Roope Hintz and Robertson, and he looks good doing it.

“It’s part of the process,” said coach Glen Gulutzan. “He’s earning it.”

Gulutzan had so much trust on Thursday, he gave Bourque his first shift in a 3-on-3 overtime setting. Bourque almost won the game, making a fantastic move and forcing Adin Hill to make a big save.

“It was my first shift out there, so I got excited,” Bourque said. “I wish I could go back and bury that one.”

The way it looks, he’ll definitely get more chances. That’s how this scoring thing works. Robertson had 17 goals in his first NHL season and then pushed those numbers to 41 and 46. Rantanen had 20 his first season and then eventually tallied 55 in his seventh.

“You need mental toughness,” Rantanen said of dealing with the pressure to score. “But if you have a scoring touch, like he does, you know how. It changes a little bit when you go pro, but a lot of goals are scored when you go in front of the net, and he does that well.”

Robertson added: “You don’t just lose it. I think a lot of it is confidence and opportunity. He’s getting good opportunities. That’s important. Then it comes natural.”

Bourque said he is feeling the confidence right now.

“You’ve just got to stick with it,” he said. “I know it’s coming. Like I’ve been telling you all year, my game is coming, you just got to stick with it.”

For veteran players to watch the growth, it’s been fun. For teammates to appreciate that the Stars might find more scoring to replace lost goals from Tyler Seguin, Mason Marchment, Mikael Granlund and Evgenii Dadonov, it’s reassuring.

“That play in overtime, that’s a confident move,” said Sam Steel. “You can tell he’s feeling it. Good for him, but great for the team.”