Playing career Rene Bourque

1 playing career

1.1 junior, college , minor-professional
1.2 national hockey league
1.3 swedish hockey league

playing career
junior, college , minor-professional

instead of whl, bourque opted play 1 season of junior hockey st. albert saints of alberta junior hockey league (ajhl), retaining ncaa eligibility. scored 44 goals , 81 points finish second in team scoring in 1999–2000. named ajhl all-rookie team , finished runner-up rookie of year award. in spite of this, went undrafted national hockey league (nhl) team.

bourque moved onto college game, playing 4 seasons wisconsin badgers. led badgers in goals (19) , points (27) junior in 2002–03 , named team s valuable player. again led badgers in scoring 16 goals , 34 points in 2003–04 wisconsin reached regional final of 2004 ncaa division men s ice hockey tournament. named recipient of ivan b. williamson scholastic award team s scholastic player of year. served tri-captain of team in final year , reached double-digit goal total in each of 4 seasons badgers.

following graduation, on july 29, 2004, bourque signed free agent contract chicago blackhawks. assigned hawks american hockey league (ahl) affiliate, norfolk admirals, 2004–05 season. scored franchise record 33 goals admirals, leading team 60 points, , named dudley red garrett memorial award winner ahl s rookie of year. additionally, made all-rookie team , played team canada @ 2005 ahl all-star game won hardest shot competition.

national hockey league

bourque joined blackhawks start 2005–06 season, , scored first nhl goal against goaltender j. s. giguere in first game, 5–3 loss mighty ducks of anaheim. finished rookie season 16 goals , 34 points, fourth place in team scoring. hawks subsequently signed bourque two-year contract extension. endured injury-plagued season in 2006–07, appearing in 44 games , scoring 7 goals. rushed hospital during november 12, 2006, game against columbus blue jackets after suffering deep cut neck nikolai zherdev s skate during scrum in crease. blackhawks announced miss 3–6 weeks following surgery repair laceration. bourque considered himself fortunate injury not worse, stating upon return action 4 weeks later might not have survived if cut couple of millimetres deeper.

just on 2 weeks after return, bourque again sidelined when suffered cracked bone in ankle on december 31, 2006. returned action on february 21, 2007, after missing 2 months. injuries again hampered bourque in 2007–08. missed time in season groin pull, knocked out of line-up month after breaking thumb in november game against detroit red wings. remained healthy upon return, finishing season 10 goals , 14 assists in 62 games chicago.

alt = player stares distance. wearing red uniform black , yellow trim , stylized black c on chest.

on july 1, 2008, bourque traded calgary flames in exchange second round selection @ 2009 nhl entry draft. flames signed restricted free agent two-year contract. enjoyed career year in calgary included first hat trick, against ottawa senators, on december 27, 2008. suffered high ankle sprain sidelined him final 2 months of regular season. although limited 58 games, topped 20-goal plateau first time (21) , scored career high 40 points. returned in time play in 2009 stanley cup playoffs against blackhawks, though missed 1 game in series after re-aggravating injury. following season, opted surgery repair damage ankle.

bourque continued provide offence flames in 2009–10; leading flames in scoring in late november when again knocked out of line-up undisclosed injury. returned action after 2 weeks, having missed 6 games. bourque remained offensive catalyst throughout season, amassing new career high in goals (27), assists (31) , points (58), , +7 rating. following season, invited play team canada @ 2010 iihf world championship. scored 1 goal , 1 assist in 7 games seventh-place canadians.

signing him six-year contract extension worth $3.3 million per season in february 2010, flames looked bourque top player organization. though prone inconsistent play, considered 1 of flames top offensive threats, , player looked @ potentially succeeding captain jarome iginla team s scoring leader. played in 2011 heritage classic, scoring 2 goals in 4–0 win on montreal canadiens, , finished season second on team 27 goals.

bourque frequent lightning rod attention in 2011–12. following slow start season offensively, bourque criticized on national television hockey night in canada commentator kelly hrudey, questioned player s dedication , suggested bourque didn t care game. bourque expressed offence @ hrudey s comments, while teammates spoke out in defence. suspended twice within month illegal hits. received two-game ban on december 19, 2011, check behind against chicago s brent seabrook, , earned five-game suspension on january 4, 2012, elbow head of washington s nicklas bäckström. last game played flames. bourque sent montreal prospect patrick holland , second round draft pick on january 12 in exchange michael cammalleri, karri rämö , fifth round draft pick.

combined between calgary , montreal, bourque s 18 goals , 24 points lowest totals in 4 seasons. start 2012–13 season delayed injury. bourque suffered abdominal wall tear during off-season training required surgery repair.

on november 9, 2014, goalless , 13 games 2014–15 season, bourque placed on waivers montreal canadiens after recording 2 assists , -9. after clearing waivers on november 10, 2014, bourque subsequently sent montreal s ahl team, hamilton bulldogs bourque s tenure canadiens came end when traded anaheim ducks in exchange bryan allen on november 20, 2014. bourque featured in 30 games high-flying ducks, struggled regain scoring touch in producing 2 goals. after clearing waivers upon trade deadline, bourque included in second trade season along william karlsson , 2nd-round pick in 2015 columbus blue jackets in exchange james wisniewski , third-round selection in 2015. bourque assigned ahl affiliate, springfield falcons on march 2, 2015. before appearing falcons, bourque recalled blue jackets replacement injury.

at conclusion of long-term contract after 2015–16 season blue jackets, bourque went through off-season free agent before agreeing professional try-out offer join colorado avalanche training camp on august 25, 2016. after successful training camp , pre-season bourque solidified position on roster , extended nhl career in signing one-year, one-way deal 2016–17 season on october 10, 2016. bourque experienced productive start avalanche career, scoring 8 goals in first 19 games. bourque later cooled off offensively decline of avalanche on course of season, still however, finished respectable rebound year in compiling 12 goals , 18 points in 65 games.

swedish hockey league

on august 29, 2017, announced bourque had signed one-year contract djurgårdens if hockey of swedish hockey league.