The Stars’ season wrap in Edmonton last spring marked a changing of the franchise guard.
Many players were in tears as they said goodbye to NHL vet Joe Pavelski, who played his final game in the Western Conference Finals.
Meanwhile, across the locker room, others like Mavrik Bourque were bright and saw the end of Game 6 as the beginning of a new chapter.
“I think it was a big confidence boost for me,” said Bourque, 22, in a recent interview with Dallas Morning News. “Seeing all the senior boys dejected when they lose is something you don’t want to hear. And I think it’s something we’re going to build on throughout the year.”
As last season drew to a close, head coach Pete DeBoer decided to give Bourque a chance to contribute to the Stars’ playoff run, as their Stanley Cup hopes dwindled. And while the team’s season came to an end that night in Edmonton, it foreshadowed the opportunity Bourque would get in Dallas this fall.
Four months after making his NHL playoff debut and six months after making his major league debut, Bourque earned a permanent spot on Dallas’ NHL roster. Although he may miss Thursday’s season opener with an injury, Bourque enters the season as one of the most promising players in the league.
Unlike some of his teammates, Bourque’s journey to the NHL required patience that might not have been necessary had he been with another franchise.
After a breakout, 77-point season in the AHL in which he was the league’s leading scorer and MVP, Bourque did everything he could to earn his place in the big leagues, making it difficult to leave him on the roster.
“Mavrik did everything we could ask him to do,” said Stars GM Jim Nill. “There was not much he could do. … If it weren’t for the cap restrictions, maybe he would have revealed more. It’s his time now. He has to find it, but so far, he has.”
Taking nothing for granted
There was a competition for a forward at Stars training camp this year, but Bourque was not a part of it.
With Dallas still needing a 13th player, many of Bourque’s AHL teammates from last year are competing for the spot eventually won by Oskar Bäck.
For the first time in his career, Bourque walked into camp knowing there was another place he was taking.
“It was very different,” Bourque said. “Obviously, the NHL is the best league in the world, so you don’t take it for granted, but at the end of the day, I knew I had my chance, and they told me I’d have a good chance to show up again. Prove that I’m good and earn my place. Once I knew they had my place. I had to I just showed you.”
Discussions with Nill and DeBoer over the summer led to an understanding within the Stars organization that Bourque would have a spot waiting for him, most likely on the third line for Dallas.
Pavelski’s retirement moved Wyatt Johnston to the top, leaving the middle position for Jamie Benn and Logan Stankoven. With Bourque and Stankoven playing together at Cedar Park — and two of the AHL’s best players when they skated together — it was an easy decision to rekindle that chemistry with the Stars’ captain.
“I think we work very well together,” Stankoven said. “I think we’re both competitive guys, and we’re hungry, and we’re looking to get better. It’s good to have another little boy. We know it’s going to take a little time to contribute offensively and hopefully do the same things we did down in the AHL, but I think over time, we’re confident we can get back to that.”
Bourque said he did not change his practice even though there was a place on the list. Since being drafted 30th overall in 2020, he’s had to work for his chances while maintaining the patience many players his age might not have.
Last season, the Stars’ depth didn’t leave a gap when Bourque was fighting for a spot, as Johnston did last year. Cap restrictions kept him in the AHL for the first half of the year.
Near the trade deadline, a spot opened up but teammate Stankoven got the nod. At the time, the Stars’ two picks in the 2021 draft (Johnston and Stankoven) had earned NHL roster spots, while Bourque, a 2020 pick, was supposed to continue his year in the AHL.
He finally made his NHL debut on April 6 against Chicago but soon returned to Cedar Park for the Texas Stars in the playoffs. He spent most of the Dallas Stars playoff season as a practice player before entering a single game.
“The thing we talk about with all our prospects and players is that you can’t control the timing of your opportunity,” said Texas Stars coach Neil Graham. “Everybody wants that opportunity or hopes to get an opportunity with Dallas, but you can’t control when that comes. What we preach controls your attitude and effort every day, and there is no better example than Mavrik Bourque.”
There is a reason those in the Stars organization say that Bourque has done everything that was asked of him. Rather than feeling defeated during a long AHL season while his teammates shined in Dallas, Bourque became the best player in Texas—and the entire league.
Even without teammate Stankoven for half a year, he has been the league’s youngest goal scorer since 2013 and has continued to produce as other teams target him.
Graham said Bourque has worked to fine-tune his game, occupying a unique position as a top scorer and penalty killer with a strong defensive mind, similar to Johnston’s.
“Without the mental strength he had, it would have been very difficult for your average person or player,” Graham said. “He was focused on his day to day. He was the first boy in the rank. He was the last one on the ice every day in practice. He was able to be the best player in the league from the beginning to the end of the year and the playoffs, and thus, we were eliminated. He has been shown and proven to be effective. It’s very difficult to do that.”
Seize the opportunity
The 22-year-old will face the final hurdle before becoming a mainstay in the Stars lineup.
He starts the season with an injury and is listed as questionable for the season opener against Nashville.
DeBoer called the injury “short-term” and expects to finally get his chance soon.
Once he does, he will have to adapt to a new league and a new role. He won’t be a major scoring threat anymore, and he won’t be reliant on a 70-point season.
“He’s ready for that challenge,” Graham said. “If the points come, great, and if they don’t come right away, he knows how to contribute to other intangibles that don’t always show up on the score sheet.”
The Stars’ philosophy has always been to only call up young players if they feel they can make a difference on a nightly basis. That’s why they have been playing without developing young prospects like Thomas Harley, Stankoven and Bourque, keeping them at Cedar Park to ensure they play day and night.
So the call-up of Bourque means that the coaching staff is confident that he will be able to contribute immediately.
“It means they are giving a lot of young guys opportunities,” said Bourque. “It’s something I’m looking forward to getting the chance, but now it’s up to me to take it.”
Game 6 in Edmonton made a difference for the Stars. With Bourque finally getting his turn, Dallas’ future has officially arrived.
“If you look at his track record and what he’s done at the American Hockey League level, it’s very special,” said Stars assistant coach Misha Donskov. “He’s got an opportunity to have a chance on our NHL team in an important role.
“You earned the opportunity to be here.”
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