“The younger version of myself would have been extremely proud. »
Posted at 1:23 a.m.
Updated at 7:00 a.m.
Gabriel Bourque retired quietly. In search of a contract after last season, the 34-year-old forward had discussions for an extension with the Laval Rocket, but nothing transcendent.
“They no longer needed me,” he tells The Press at the end of the line. There were so many strikers who had already signed. »
The Rimouskie had already agreed with his wife that, in the event that he did not return to Laval, the final bell would be rung.
It was decided. I was no longer tempted to travel. With the kids and all that, it was made too difficult.
Gabriel Bourque
You should know that Bourque and his partner have four children; an 11 year old girl, an 8 year old boy and 5 year old twins. And when it came to moving, they gave; Milwaukee, Nashville, Colorado, San Antonio, Winnipeg, then Laval. All this, between 2010 and 2020. That’s quite a few kilometers, and a lot of new houses.
If the word that begins with an r is always a little feared by professional athletes, who have generally devoted their entire lives to their sport, Bourque was ready to hang up his skates.
“At the start [c’était dur]but now it feels good. I think it was time for me to retire. It’s good for the body to rest and especially for the mind to let go a little. »
“It’s certain that I have a little pang in my heart when I see the guys playing. It’s the team spirit, seeing the guys every day, that I miss the most. The rest, I have mourned, I am correct. »
Pride and regret
Casually, Gabriel Bourque will have played 413 games in the National League, scoring 103 points. In the American League, he accumulated 364 games and 169 points. In total, we are talking about almost 800 professional matches.
“I dreamed of that when I was young,” said the Quebecer. I never thought it was possible, firstly, that I’m playing in the National League, and secondly, that I’m playing this long. I’m really proud of my career. »
PHOTO ANDRÉ PICHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
In January 2018 at the Bell Centre, Nicolas Deslauriers (20) and Gabriel Bourque (57), then in the Colorado Avalanche uniform
This pride does not prevent him from feeling some regrets. Especially that of having “often” played when he was injured. “I shouldn’t have,” he maintains. There are always regrets, but you live it in the moment. It’s a world where you put so much pressure on yourself. »
Conversely, the striker remembers the 2015-2016 season, when he only played 26 games due to a “bad head injury”. The following year, he found himself in the American League, before returning to the National League for three seasons. It is his resilience that he is proud of to this day.
“No one thought I would be able to come back and I did,” he recalls. […] I worked hard. It wasn’t easy, that moment. Mentally, it was a challenge both on the ice and at home. »
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE
Gabriel Bourque (left) finished his career as captain of the Laval Rocket last season.
In 2020-2021, in the year following the pandemic, Bourque took a complete break from hockey… only to return the following year, when he joined the Laval Rocket. When signing his contract, he told The Press now wanting to “play hockey to have fun”.
“You try, but it doesn’t always happen!” “, he says when we remind him of his own words. “I have remained a hockey player who puts pressure on himself. But that’s normal. You have to perform. It’s an elite level. »
Bourque finally ended his career as captain of the Canadiens’ farm club last season. There are worse things.
Hockey, dance, hockey
When a professional athlete retires from their sport, the big question is always the same: what’s next? After all, at 34, life is still just beginning…
Bourque has not strayed far from the arenas. In recent months, he accepted the invitation from his good friend, coach Charles Dupéré, to coach the Lionel-Groulx College Nordiques team with him. What was supposed to be an occasional attendance at practices became a full-time role as an assistant coach. “In the end, I really liked it,” he sums up.
“When I was playing, I said to myself: there is no chance that I will coach. The older I got, the more I loved it, teaching the young guys on the team and seeing the game differently. There, I really like that. I really got the sting. »
Playing and coaching are not the same. I had things to learn and I am learning them this year.
Gabriel Bourque
Bourque also now has more time for his role as a dad. He is also an assistant coach for his son’s team, in Atom AA. “The kid has fun, he’s smiling, that’s the important thing,” he says on this subject.
Between his role with the Nordiques, his trips to the arena with his son and the dance training of his three daughters, the former captain of the Rocket is not bored in the least. Weekends are busy.
“I have lots of little projects, we can’t stop,” he concludes.
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