To all the fans of the Prince George Cougars and the team's new ownership group, Troy Bourke says don't take it personally.
He really doesn't want to come back to Prince George next season to play hockey.
If he gets his wish, the Cougars will be looking for a new captain.
That became more of a probability last week when the 20-year-old centre signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Colorado Avalanche, the team that picked him in the third round (72nd overall) in the 2012 NHL draft.
"It's been a long time coming, in the last two years it's been running in the back of my head and it's nice to get it out of the way and start worrying about other things," said Bourke, from his home in Onoway, Alta. "In the meantime, it's a pretty cool feeling."
Bourke made his regular-season pro hockey debut with the Lake Erie Monsters a week after the Cougars' season ended and had an immediate impact. In his first American Hockey League game, March 21 in Cleveland, he scored the game-winning goal and added two assists in a 5-0 win over the Rochester Americans.
"I didn't know what to expect at first, I think the game [at the AHL level] kind of fits my game style," said Bourke. "The biggest [attribute] of my game is my vision, I see the ice pretty well and the guys down there are very similar. They can make plays and read off each other.
"I felt pretty comfortable from the first day on. The coach [Dean Chynoweth] gave me lots of opportunities, which helped as well. It was an eye-opener that let me kind of believe I can play there."
Bourke finished with three goals and seven points in 15 games. Lake Erie, like the Cougars, failed to qualify for the playoffs. He didn't get rich over the course of that month but the hike in pay was substantial over the weekly stipends he drew playing for the Cougars.
"The biggest thing was just seeing how the players lived, it's a completely different lifestyle from junior hockey," Bourke said. "You're on your own for everything. You're living with a roommate but you're still on your own. You're off at 12 and you have the whole day to fill your time. A lot of guys have families."
The Cougars will be hard-pressed to replace Bourke, whose 85 points in 69 games ranked him second in team scoring. Not only was he the leader of the Cats, on and off the ice, but he's also the team's all-time scoring leader. He accomplished that feat in the final game of the regular season, finishing with 236 points in 272 games over five seasons, including a five-game stint as a 15-year-old in 2009-10.
In mid-July, Bourke plans to go to Minneapolis to resume workouts with trainer Kevin Ziegler and several other pros, continuing clinics he started last summer with Minnesota Wild skating coach Barry Karn. Bourke figures he'll go right from Minnesota to the Avalanche camp in September.
"There are so many good players and it will be a battle, wherever I play, to stick in the lineup," he said. "My focus is to get better each day and summer is good for that to work on stuff you can't during the season."
The off-season break from the ice has given Bourke a chance to build some bulk at a gym in Edmonton and load up on his mother Michelle's home cooking.
"[Ziegler] kind of taught how to be a pro and nutrition is a huge part of it," said the five-foot-11 Bourke. "I think I ended the season in P.G. at 170 [pounds] and now I'm 178. Mom's cooking is helping."
As a 20-year-old Bourke is eligible to return to the WHL. After three straight years with the league's worst attendance figures, it's expected there will be a lot fewer empty seats at CN Centre for Cougar games in 2014-15. Chances are he won't get to witness the renewed interest in the team but he's glad his teammates will.
"You want to be in the highest level you can be at, but we'll see what happens," said Bourke. "There is a possibility I will be back [with the Cougars]. The city is buzzing with the new ownership and that would be kind of cool. For my first four years I haven't really been around it and this year it's going to be different.
"There will be a happier, more positive vibe around the dressing room and around the whole city. A lot of fans on Twitter are pretty pumped up about the year but my main focus is trying to get to that next level."
