Mavrik Bourque, the Stars' 30th overall pick in 2020, has been brought up to the big club.
Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill announced on Friday the team has called up forward Mavrik Bourque from their AHL development affiliate in Cedar Park.
The 22-year-old Bourque, whom the Stars selected as their 30th overall pick in the first round of the 2020 NHL draft, currently leads all AHL skaters with 72 points (26-46-72) in 66 games with the Texas Stars this season. He leads the club and is second in the league with 46 assists, and his 26 goals are second-best on the club and tied for 10th-best in the AHL.
The 5-foot-10, 191-pound Plessisville, Quebec native has appeared in 142 games with Texas over three seasons, recording 47 goals and 77 assists for 124 points during that span.
Earlier this season, Bourque represented the Central Division at the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic in San Jose along with teammates Logan Stankoven and Matěj Blümel.
Dallas first recalled Stankoven in February, and the 2021 second-round (47th overall) draft choice promptly scored four points in three games, including goals in three straight. He currently has 13 points (6-7-13) in 18 games with a plus/minus of +10.
Bourque made his AHL debut in May of 2021, posting five points (1-4-5) in six games with Texas that season. In 2022-23, his first full professional season, he recorded 47 points (20-27-47) in 70 regular-season games with Texas. He earned a goal and three assists for four points in eight Calder Cup playoff games.
Bourque was among the final cuts in training camp prior to the start of this season. He was briefly recalled before Game 4 of the 2022-23 Western Conference Finals but was a healthy scratch.
After playing with Texas on Wednesday, Bourque flew to Dallas on Thursday and was able to practice with the team Friday before heading out on the club's final road trip of the season. As excited as he is to finally get this opportunity, he's careful not to look too far ahead.
"You just go day-to-day and almost hour-per-hour," Bourque said Friday. "I just do my thing and I'm just happy to be here right now."
With 13 forwards already on the roster and forward Ty Dellandrea a healthy scratch over the past several games, where does Bourque fit into the current picture? During Friday morning's practice, he skated with Jamie Benn and Stankoven, while Wyatt Johnston was on a line with Matt Duchene and Mason Marchment.
Stars coach Pete DeBoer said Friday Bourque will make his NHL debut this weekend during the club's upcoming two-game road trip to Chicago and Denver, although he did not specify which game Bourque would appear in.
"He's definitely going to play," DeBoer said of Bourque. "We haven't finalized any of those decisions yet. We've got some injuries we're managing back-to-back... I can't think of somebody more deserving or who has done it right like he has."
The injury management DeBoer may be referring to is that of forward Tyler Seguin, who is coming off a lower-body injury suffered February 22 against the Ottawa Senators.
Bourque has proven himself as a quality scorer at the AHL level. But DeBoer sees other qualities to his game that are just as valuable.
"I wouldn't call him a one-dimensional offensive player," DeBoer said. "His strengths probably lie like Wyatt Johnston. He's got a conscience away from the puck. He's got good hockey sense, he can kill penalties and be in those defensive situations and is comfortable. That's always nice from a coaching perspective."
Despite his versatility, DeBoer isn't in any rush to put Bourque in power-play or penalty-kill situations.
"I think we're gonna get his first game under his belt and get him in there," DeBoer said.
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