Phil Bourque
Birth dateJune 8, 1962 (age 64)
Birth placeChelmsford, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height6 ft
Height in1
Weight lb196
PositionLeft wing/defense
ShootsLeft
Played forPittsburgh Penguins
New York Rangers
Ottawa Senators
Rosenheim Star Bulls
Ntl teamUSA
DraftUndrafted
Career start1982
Career end2000

Phillipe Richard Bourque (born June 8, 1962) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He was never selected in the NHL entry draft; instead, he was signed as a free agent by the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 4, 1982. He is a distant cousin to Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque.

Playing career

Bourque joined the Penguins organization after playing two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Kingston Canadians. He joined the Penguins' American Hockey League affiliate, the Baltimore Skipjacks for the 1982–83 season, and made his NHL debut with Pittsburgh in 1983–84, playing in five games.

Bourque would not become a mainstay on the Penguins roster until the 1988–89 season, during which he played in all 80 of the team's games. He would be a member of the Penguins teams which won the Stanley Cup in the 1990–91 and 1991–92 seasons. Mike "Doc" Emrick would recount later that Bourque, after winning the 1991-1992 Stanley Cup, had put his name inside the Cup with the many jewelers who had worked on the cup in the past. He had worked on the cup in his garage using a screwdriver to repair a loose screw at the top of the trophy. He would leave the Penguins after the 1992 Cup victory, and play sparingly with the New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators. Just prior to the 1994–95 NHL lockout, Bourque was nearly killed when he took a 40-foot fall down a cliff near Arizona's Lake Powell. He suffered three broken vertebrae in his neck, a broken skull, a shattered sinus cavity, a broken cheekbone and a broken nose in the incident.[1][2]

Bourque left the NHL after the 1995–96 season. He played with the IHL's Chicago Wolves for one season, and then spent three seasons playing in Germany before retiring following the 1999–2000 season.

Bourque works as the color commentator alongside Josh Getzof for Penguins radio broadcasts. Bourque's final segment of the Penguins pre-game broadcasts is known as "Two Minutes with the Ol' Two-Niner." in which Bourque interviews a player, coach, or personality relevant to the upcoming game.

Bourque earned a spot in the hearts of many Penguins fans when he remarked at the victory celebration of Pittsburgh's first Stanley Cup title in 1991 by saying "What do you say we take this thing out on the river and party all summer"![3] He was referring to taking the Stanley Cup with him on any number of outdoor activities offered by Pittsburgh's three main rivers.

In his NHL career, Bourque appeared in 477 games. He scored 88 goals and added 111 assists. He also appeared in 56 playoff games, scoring 13 goals and recording 12 assists. He also represented the United States at the 1994 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships.

In October 2019, Bourque released his book "If These Walls Could Talk: Pittsburgh Penguins," where he shares his stories from both his playing and broadcasting careers with the Penguins organization.

Career statistics

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
1980–81Kingston CanadiansOHL4744846—————
1981–82Kingston CanadiansOHL6711405111140000
1982–83Baltimore SkipjacksAHL651151693—————
1983–84Baltimore SkipjacksAHL585172296—————
1983–84Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL501112—————
1984–85Baltimore SkipjacksAHL79615211641325723
1985–86Baltimore SkipjacksAHL7481826226—————
1985–86Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL40002—————
1986–87Baltimore SkipjacksAHL49151631183—————
1986–87Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL2223532—————
1987–88Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL214121620—————
1987–88Muskegon LumberjacksIHL5216365266612316
1988–89Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL80172643971141566
1989–90Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL76221739108—————
1990–91Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL7820143410624671316
1991–92Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL58101626582134725
1992–93New York RangersNHL556142039—————
1993–94New York RangersNHL160118—————
1993–94Ottawa SenatorsNHL112350—————
1994–95Ottawa SenatorsNHL3843720—————
1995–96Ottawa SenatorsNHL1311214—————
1995–96Detroit VipersIHL3641317701013410
1996–97Chicago WolvesIHL77714215040222
1997–98Rosenheim Star BullsDEL40471160—————
1998–99Hamburg Crocodiles2.GBun358202898—————
1999–00Hamburg Crocodiles2.GBun3617857—————
NHL totals4778811119951656131225107

References

  1. ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_n1_v219/ai_16045693[dead link]
  2. ^ Lee, Amber (21 June 2011). "Pittsburgh Penguins Stanley Cup Teams of the Early '90s: Where Are They Now?". bleacherreport.com. Bleacher Report. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  3. ^ "Phil Bourque Parties with Cup". YouTube. Archived 2021-12-11 at the Wayback Machine.