Mavrik Bourque shift-by-shift video and scouting notes -- February 1, 2020

Video of every shift from Mavrik Bourque's seven point outing @ Halifax on February 1, 2020

Mavrik Bourque is an offence-first centre with a well-rounded offensive skillset. He’s a quick attacker with excellent puck skills and similar comfort as both a scorer and a playmaker. Bourque went off in this game, recording a point on all *seven* of Shawinigan’s goals in their win against the Halifax Mooseheads, including four points in only about five minutes of ice time in the third frame. Plenty of excitement in this one; I hope you’ll enjoy it.

This is the third post of this nature that I’ve done, with the first two focusing on Seth Jarvis and Braden Schneider. As usual, I’ll start with a quick description of the purposes of these videos and notes: to provide a quick, efficient way for those without the time or resources to watch draft eligible players on the ice (15 to 25 minutes is a lot quicker than the two and a half hours it takes to watch an entire game live), as well as outline my thought process and the things that catch my eye while I watch these games.

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If you’re just here for the full video, it’s right here below. For my period by period thoughts, keep scrolling afterwards.

Period One

00:15— Bourque starts off sloppy, failing to play the puck past the Halifax forechecker leading to a great chance in front. I love his offensively play, but this demonstration right here is an example of a recurring theme of defensive sloppiness to his game.

00:42— With a defender on his back, Bourque is able to maintain possession and move the puck safely to a teammate. You’ll see this a few more times later on; Bourque’s ability to possess the puck under significant defensive pressure is one of his best qualities.

00:51— Great chance early on, fades backwards from his defender and finds himself all alone in front.

01:00— One of Bourque’s most frustrating defensive habits is his tendency to fly by pucks rather than stop on them. It works out for him here as his leg gets in the way, but there are plenty of times where it doesn’t and he’s left out of position. Shouldn’t be difficult to coach out though.

01:49— Speed down the wing, stop-up to create space, can’t connect on the pass. Good look at his skating: above-average for sure, but not exceptional.

02:08— Notice how Bourque is a little slow coming back and seems to be waiting up for the puck to change directions back to offence. I’d say there’s a very strong chance that he ends up on the wing— his defensive responsibility is far from pro level and he’s a player that would really benefit from the offensive freedom of the wing. Would be able to hang out at the top of the zone more looking to get a jump on the offence as a winger.

03:18— His defensive responsibility is lacking, but Bourque positions himself nicely without the puck on offence and when the other team is moving the puck up in transition. Falls back, supports his defenceman, and finds himself in position to keep a puck in here.

03:29— Another strong off-puck play on offence. He’s the high forward with both wingers deep in the zone, but he picks a good spot to be aggressive and jump in on the forecheck as well. Forces a turnover and makes a slot pass.

04:10— Look at Bourque lug the puck the neutral zone with a defender on his back and then find an open teammate as that player closes in on him. At 5’11” 171 lbs he’s by no means a large player, but he does an excellent job getting his hips ahead of defenders to protect the puck (something we noticed Seth Jarvis doing very well in the game of his I looked at).

04:36— Another! On the near boards, Bourque gets his body between defender and puck and finds just enough time and space to move it off to an open teammate.

04:55— Terrific acceleration to burn the first forechecker, gets the controlled entry and makes an exceptional pass across into space.

05:47— More great forechecking, cuts off the pass on the boards after making the defender think he was going to engage physically. The kind of finesse plays that smaller players can use to make havoc on the forecheck despite their stature.

05:52— First point of the game is a secondary assist on a pretty passing play. The initial forecheck starts it all off, then Bourque goes back and forth with a teammate who cuts into the slot and threads a pass through the legs of the defender for the finish.

06:17— Bourque just always seems to be in the right spot on the forecheck, intercepting a pass this time and getting a great scoring chance in the slot.

Period Two

00:00— Bourque plays a ton in this period, logging about 9 minutes of ice time.

00:23— Primary assist. Works down the wall, stops up to create a lane, and zips a beautiful pass back-door for his teammate to finish. A+ assist: vision, lane creation, and touch are all there.

01:55— Great zone entry, accelerates very quickly to find a lane wide.

02:30— The pass fake to create space to dance into the middle is terrific.

04:45— Incredible goal. I talked about how well Bourque conducts himself under pressure and here’s a fantastic example. Partial breakaway, defenders swings with his stick to sweep the puck away and Bourque spins off at exactly the right moment, sending the defender to the wrong side as he snipes the puck home. Just a crazy smart play and one of the better goals I saw from any prospect this season.

05:10— Doesn’t work out for him, but look at the puck skills here.

05:43— Ends in a turnover but man I love the thought. Shifty lateral movement through the neutral zone, cuts across towards the far boards to draw both defenders that direction and almost pulls off the backhand pass to send a teammate in for a possible breakaway. He forced the defender to commit to moving right, if Bourque had managed to slide that pass through the defender would have to reverse his momentum to chase.

05:58— Great pass to split the two defenders to send his teammate in on a breakaway coming out of the box.

07:00— Very off topic but look at the wheels on Xavier Bourgault. Looking like a top 10 pick for 2021, remember the name. (Cameron Whynot on the Mooseheads is another 2021 eligible that made some nice plays in this video, he’s an early favourite of mine for that draft).

Bourque only has three points so far, gear up for a massive third period on his part.

Period Three

00:32— Carry out from behind his own net, can really see how effortlessly he skates.

00:54— Player on his back, does not panic in the slightest. Keeps his hips in front of the defender and finds a passing option without running into any trouble whatsoever.

02:26— Second goal of the game after a pass bounces off a defender into the net. Notice how he pulls the puck behind his body to create that initial passing lane and more or less remove the first defender from the play.

03:02— Primary assist off a Halifax turnover. Excellent vision, manages to spot an open teammate even with his head down while trying to settle down the puck.

04:04— Secondary assist on a five minute powerplay. His movement towards the top of the zone creates the passing lane that leads to the goal— the defender on the top right of Halifax’s box penalty kill begins to follow, pulling him out of position and ultimately creating the cross-ice lane.

04:38— Outstanding powerplay assist. Bourque has everything as a passer: vision, lane creation, passing touch, you name it. This time, he waits until Halifax’s net front defender shifts his stick away from Shawinigan’s attacker parked on the edge of the crease and immediately takes advantage when he does, threading a pass through a defender’s skate for the easy tap-in. Elite assist.

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