The Colorado Avalanche spent three years getting bigger and grittier. Now they seem to be looking at lighter, fleeter players.
Case in point left wing Gabriel Bourque, who’s on a PTO contract with the team. Bourque is a short 5-foot-9 — an inch shorter than offensive defenseman Tyson Barrie. Bourque is a compact 206 pounds, though.
Gabriel is known as being a tenacious winger with some speed and just a little offensive creativity. His talent is for forechecking, though he can be relatively easy to knock off the puck.
As with smaller players, injury can be a problem.