Stars Thursday Orbit: Looking at prospect Mavrik Bourque

Let's look at the first-round pick from 2020 and what his AHL film could tell us about his future.

Yesterday we introduced Wing Wednesday, a weekly feature that looks at the tactical side of the game relating to the Detroit Red Wings.

Today we are focusing on the Dallas Stars for a new weekly Thursday feature, which I’m tentatively calling “Stars Thursday Orbit” — it lacks the pop of Wing Wednesday, but it works.

While we looked at the power play entries for Detroit, with Dallas, I want to take a look at an individual player and explore Mavrik Bourque’s first season in the AHL.

Bourque is probably the Stars third best prospect behind Logan Stankoven and Lian Bichsel, I wrote about him recently for D Magazine and my colleagues over at EP Rinkside have him ranked as the 66th best affiliated prospect in the NHL right now.

He’s also coming off one of the typically most difficult seasons in pro hockey, the jump from major junior to the pro game (which is why what Wyatt Johnston did last season with Dallas was even more impressive, as a side note).

Bourque had 47 points in 70 AHL games, he struggled mightily at the start of the season, hit the hard learning curve, but became more consistent at the end of the season.

For some AHL fancy stats, he averaged 15 minutes, 20 seconds per game (according to InStat), 2:56 of that on the power play.

My good friend, and co-author, Stephen Meserve covers the Texas Stars better than anyone for 100 Degree Hockey and pointed out that struggling to start the season was actually helpful for Bourque. Bourque didn’t get outwardly frustrated, he adopted more of a grind-through-it approach to prove he could play anywhere in the lineup, something that coaches appreciate.

But if Bourque is going to have success in the NHL, it’s going to be as a playmaker, either in the top-six or deeper in the lineup for a more forward-thinking team that is willing to embrace 5-foot-10 smart center on the traditional third or fourth line.

For this exercise I only looked at film from Bourque’s final 10 games of this past season, regular season and playoffs included. I wanted to throw away any learning curve video from the QMJHL to AHL jump, which is huge, and focus on what the Stars are potential getting right now.

Watching Bourque’s film, I’m reminded of three different players I’ve covered for different reasons: John Klingberg, Jason Robertson, and Travis Morin.

Let me explain.

Klingberg only had a short AHL cameo, 10 games to start the 2014-15 season, and he was great. But he was even better when called up to the NHL, where his vision and hockey IQ better matched the players around him.

That’s how Bourque sees the game offensively, he sees the ice at an NHL level, but he doesn’t always have NHL-level linemates with him to complete his visions.

Travis Morin only played 13 career NHL games, but he was one of the best passers and playmakers I ever covered. In the AHL he ran a power play from the halfwall better than anyone else, he just never had the chance to play that role in the NHL and prove he could make the jump.

Bourque won’t be Morin, because of his draft status he’ll get the chance to play through NHL mistakes. As an undrafted skilled player, Morin never had that luxury.

And Bourque reminds me of Robertson because the skating and speed aren’t elite, but he’s able to create on the rush despite being slow. Which is something that Jack Han explored today and is worth a look.

Score like Jason Robertson (1)

It should be noted, it isn’t fair to expect Bourque to put up numbers like Robertson in his career — Robertson was always a better natural scorer — but they did both have 47 -point seasons in their first AHL season out of junior hockey.

For a further look, here is Robertson and Bourque side-by-side at their respective ages.

Anywho, let’s look at some video on Bourque, once again, this all from his final 10 games of the past season.

Bourque’s routes have always been good, even at the start of the season when he struggled, the commitment to positional hockey offensively was fairly obvious.

We’ll start here with this clip against the Milwaukee Admirals, where Bourque, who is No. 19 in the videos, helps create transition through the neutral zone with a simple off-the-board play and following a smart route through the middle.

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It’s not complicated, or really notable, but it’s a foundation of his game that allows Bourque to be a creator in transition. If you aren’t fast, you better know where you are going.

Here’s another clip, where Bourque enters the zone with possession down the right wing and with effectively stalls well while his teammates finish their routes to the net.

(If you read Wing Wednesdays this week, you’ll remember finishing routes is important to NHL coaches.)

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This is a play that is going to be a nothing burger in the AHL, but with NHL top-six minded teammates, there’s potential for more with Bourque on plays like this.

Here’s an example that actually ends in a goal and it’s Bourque at his best against the Rockford IceHogs.

Watch Bourque down the bottom of your screen, particularly focus on the stall to allow his teammates to finish their route and the fake shot to create more of an open lane — it’s like a QB passing a WR open.

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I also really like Bourque’s ability to protect the puck and create space despite being an average-sized human in a large man’s game.

Bourque understands leverage, using the length he does have to create separation and change shooting or passing angles available to him.

Here is a simple example.

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Bourque has bit of edge along the boards, it helps with puck retrievals, and he’s pretty good at transferring pucks from his feet to stick to quickly transition to offense.

Here is a play against Milwaukee where he wins the battle, regroups the play, and circles back to create a shot from the top of the circle — which tends to be one of his favorite places to shoot from.

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Bourque is Robertson-esque in his usage of that space on the ice, he uses the top of the circles to create space, can get his feet moving downhill to shoot, and can also find seam passes in the process.

Here’s a goal on that type of play, which starts with Bourque winning the face-off in the offensive zone.

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Bourque likes to shoot, but I’m not as sold on his shot as some others — I don’t think he’s an NHL-level finisher. His shot is a better tool to create passing lanes, which he uses often, and if he’s going to make it in the NHL it’s going to be because of how he sets up others.

For example, there are several moments from Bourque’s AHL film where a better finisher would have scored. As a positive, he does have a “heavier shot” — which I describe as one that’s hard to hold as a goalie — and he uses it to create rebounds.

The last piece of Bourque’s game, and this will be vital to him reaching the NHL sooner than later, is his dedication to the forecheck. Like Robertson, he’s slow, but he’s effective in timing his routes and reading the opposition.

He also has a little bit of an edge, similar to what we saw on the in-zone clip before, that we can see here on this play against Milwaukee.

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Because hockey is a sport that features a ton of injuries, I expect Bourque to play at least a couple NHL games this season. He’ll get the call-up as a first-round pick, particularly when an NHL top-six option inevitably takes a knock.

He won’t make the NHL roster out of camp, the Stars offseason moves and win-now attitude have blocked that possibility, but he at least has potential to create more whenever the NHL call-up does come.

(Editor’s note: this type of story will typically be for paid subscribers only. But this week and next with the film/breakdowns I’m keeping them open for those on the fence to give the coverage a try. Thanks again for your support.)