Though the numbers haven’t come in the AHL yet (Bourgault was actually one of a poor Bakersfield team’s most productive players as a rookie last year but has hit a bit of a wall this season), I still believe Bourgault will figure it out. He was one of the QMJHL’s best forwards two years ago when I was consistently impressed by him in double-digit live viewings split between three Hockey Canada events and the Memorial Cup.
Though his late-October birthday was always a factor in contextualizing his three standout seasons in junior, Bourgault’s tools almost all grade out highly. He does a great job improvising under pressure to slide pucks around defenders, switch from a two-hand carry to a one-hand carry or pick up his pace. His handles and edges as he adjusts to pressure both look easy (he was one of the better stickhandlers in the QMJHL as well). He has developed into a quick skater in straight lines. I like his change of direction with the puck. And his game has deception, with little stutters in his release that force the goalie down early and fake passes that force defenders to bite. He hides the puck on his stick and sends mixed signals beautifully because his hands, feet and eyes do different things. He’s dangerous in a variety of ways, with a release that comes off his blade early in his shooting motion and stance to surprise goalies (off either foot or from awkward postures, too), a hard one-timer and smart instincts inside the offensive zone.
And though he’s neither big nor small, his detail has made him an able penalty killer at various points in his career, he holds his own defensively, and he plays through contact consistently thanks in part to good core balance over a wide skating stance.
He does have work to do to get to the middle third against pros more than he has, though. And while he, like Holloway, played some centre coming up, he projects as a winger. Still, there’s a path for him to develop into an impactful secondary playmaker as a top-nine winger with power-play upside.