Is It Time For Chris Bourque to Return to Hershey?
Photo: Kyle Mace / Chocolate Hockey
Wednesday marks the beginning of the 2015 Free Agency period for hockey, which means it’s time for the Bears to bring in new players to fill out next season’s roster. Currently, Hershey has 15 possible players for next season (excluding the two RFA offers from Washington to Stan Galiev and Chris Brown.)
But the Bears still need a few key parts to fill out their roster, and there’s one player in the back of every Bears fans mind that they would love to see back in a Chocolate and White sweater: Chris Bourque.
After the 2010 Calder Cup Playoffs MVP took down his former team in the second round of this year’s playoffs, many Bears fans were going “Why is Chris Bourque not playing for Hershey?” If you take out complications due to contract details, there’s no reason at all why Chris Bourque shouldn’t be in a Bears jersey, and we’ll tell you why.
Bouruqe is a Power Play Machine
In 73 games with Hartford, Bourque posted a line of 11-15-26 on the man advantage. With the loss of Tim Kennedy who had 20 power play assists last season, the addition of Bourque to Hershey’s special teams, especially with a young defenseman in Connor Carrick and a natural scorer in Stan Galiev, the Bears power play would be scary.
Hershey’s young squad next season needs a veteran presence
The average age of players currently under contract next year for Hershey is 21-years-old. Signing Bourque, who would be going into his 10th professional season and would bring experience to a young Bears squad. Right now, The Bears do not have a single veteran signed for the 2015-16 season, giving Hershey/Washington room to sign Bourque.
At 29-years-old, he’s still in the prime of his career
Though Bourque has not put up the same point-per-game-plus numbers when he left Hershey in 2012, Bourque still is one of the top players in the AHL. Last season, he posted a stat line of 29-37-66, making him one of the top five scorers in the league. Seeing him quarterback a team is still a thing of beauty.
Bourque continues to be a fan favorite in Hershey
Yeah, he got booed when he came back last year in the playoffs, but walk around Giant Center on any given night and you still see 20-30 Bourque jerseys and t-shirts on fans roaming the arena. It’s been three seasons since #17 was last worn by him, but some fans will still tell you he is their favorite player.
It’s a low risk – high reward signing
You know Bourque will produce points for this team. He has played under/with the current coaching staff and always puts up good numbers in Giant Center. Even if he doesn’t, you still need an older locker room presence and he would provide that for this team. If Washington needs a left winger call-up too, Bourque has proved he can play in the NHL and would provide a bit of depth for the Capitals.
Bourque is a no-brainer signing for Washington/Hershey. If you weren’t convinced by any of that, try and tell us you wouldn’t want to see this again:
