Coming off a QMJHL title and a run in the Memorial Cup Tournament, there was a lot of hype surrounding Simon Bourque, and the hope was that he’d bring his steady game over to the AHL.
The transition to professional hockey is not an easy one by any stretch, especially not on defence where the learning curve is a bit steeper. With that in mind, it’s obvious just by looking at Bourque’s numbers that his adjustment year was not an easy one. It’s not entirely on Bourque; he struggled mightily, but so did every single defender in Laval this year to varying degrees.