Phil Bourque

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Position	Left Wing/Defenseman
Shoots	Left
Height Weight	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 196 lb (89 kg)
NHL Team F. Teams	retired Pittsburgh Penguins New York Rangers Ottawa Senators
Nationality	United States
Born	June 8, 1962, Chelmsford, MA, USA
Pro Career	1982 – 2000

Phil Bourque (born June 8, 1962, in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, USA) is a former National Hockey League left wing and defenseman. 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.

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 Penguin teams which won the Stanley Cup in the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons. 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]

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 currently works as the color commentator alongside Mike Lange for Penguins radio broadcasts.

Bourque is lovingly known by Penguins faithful as the Ol' Two-Niner.

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.