Is Dallas Stars’ Mavrik Bourque Ready For A Breakout Season?

Is Dallas Stars’ Mavrik Bourque Ready For A Breakout Season?

I’m looking to have an impact every night. Not necessarily on the score sheet, but just not coasting around and sometime I felt like I was playing a game to not crack eggs. Well, Maverick, enough of the pleasantries here. Uh, basketball. Talk a little bit. No, you know what? You’ve got what? You got just about a full season in. You’ve played 74 75 NHL games now. Um, talk about the weight of being a first round draft pick and then coming into your first year and that process. Um, I mean, we’re in Dallas, right? I’m from Canada, so I guess the market in Canada is uh is a lot different. Um, and Dallas, I never really felt the weight to be a firstrounder. Um, I just basically followed the step from the Thomas Arley, the Jason Robertson, those guys before me. And um yeah, so obviously I I got drafted, played two more year junior, played two year in the NHL and made the step last year. So I think it it was a long process to get to the NHL uh playing four years after being drafted. But um I think I’m I’m still progressing and uh yeah, I just uh trust the process and and go year by year. Talk Well, then let me follow up with that. Like so talk about playing, you know, you kind of light up the American League when you’re there. Talk about everybody thinks that, you know, especially when you’re getting drafted high, that players are just going to step into the NHL and play. It’s not always that easy. So talk about that transition coming from the American League and basically being the best player in the American League and then stepping into the NHL. Yeah, obviously you’re you’re in the play top minute. You play all the most of the offensive faceoff draw and and stuff like that. and you’re involved in the game and um after that you get here. Obviously, I didn’t really have the training camp I was expecting with whatever happened and um and you dealing with I’m sorry to jump in. Weren’t you dealing with an injury to start last training camp? Yeah. So, the first day I got here, I felt ready. I skate a lot and uh I step on a stick and I kind of felt something in my uh in my uh hip and I was like, “Okay, it’s fine.” And the first preseason game I played, I just kind of it up and came back too quick last preseason game and it up again. So, and when you’re when you’re a rookie, you’re you’re already like for myself, I knew I was probably a step behind cuz uh I always take me time to adjust, but with that injury, I was basically two step behind and it’s hard to get going when you you get you come back and you basically play 10 minutes a night, your confidence already not there. You’re already behind like so it just add up. So, um, yeah, I think, uh, it took me time to to adjust to that the NHL level, but, uh, was pretty happy with with my second half with with the opportunity I got. Sean, who’s not on the show today, but Sean Shapiro’s done some interviews with you in the past. And one he wrote I thought was fascinating was talking about you going from your first year with Texas which was the 2223 season and then 23 24 where you had just an explosion wi with the AHL team about you betting on yourself you being bullish and saying look I went from being a marquee player in juniors to you know I mean you had 47 points and 20 goals your first year in the AHL but that wasn’t good enough in your mind was it? So, what where did you find that that sort of passion and and confidence in yourself even when things that first year weren’t up to where you thought the standard should be? Um, I think it just always been like that. Um, you you just you just get rattled and uh you have high everybody’s got high expectation. Everybody’s in the NHL for a reason. Um, and for myself, I I know the player I want to be. And uh, like I said in the past, I don’t think I I’m even close to that. And um, obviously it always helped. Like I show up this year like all the older guys like you kind of like know them and like you feel more comfortable. And for some people it might look like well like it doesn’t really matter, but uh, for me I always been somebody that like to be in my my environment that that I know and stuff like that. So um yeah, I think that that’s how I felt my second year. I show up for when I got sent down the first practice I show up I I felt great and sometime when when you don’t feel really good, don’t feel confident. You feel like your stick is like a a foot too long or stuff like that. Like people that play the game know how it feels like and um yeah, it’s just details like that that I feel like I’m ready to go. And um I learned a lot from last year like I think I played I played fourth line, I played center, I played wing, I played power play, I played PK, like uh learning from the all those older guys, but um I think the learning process is enough and now it’s it’s it’s time to show up. So that’s the way I look at it. I want to go you mentioned playing Montreal, so I want to ask you about that. Uh January 11th, 2025. So, it was this year you got to play at the Bell Center. I’m not even going to try to butcher because I don’t speak French at all. Luds is actually pretty good at it cuz he played there. You get to play against the Canadians. You get an assist. The team wins in a shootout. That had to I mean for a kid that grew up in Quebec. What was that like for you to the experience of playing there playing against the habitants the the whole thing that must have been unbelievable for you to to realize that dream? Yeah, I think for me it’s uh you have some some stuff that happened in the past like whatever your first NHL game when you get drafted. Uh I remember when I made world junior but for me that day was was the best uh my top one for what happened in my hockey career just uh Saturday night at the Bell Center just guys send me no bucket uh no helmet. So um yeah obviously I got an assist we won in a shootout like um and I felt like turn were kind things were kind of turning around for me. Uh, so yeah, obviously I I will say it was probably and even before that it was my birthday on the Thursday night and we got in Montreal, the night of my birthday, Friday, Saturday. So yeah, I would say it was probably the best uh the best couple days I had last year. Um, and you scored against Philadelphia right before your birthday. Yeah. Then you scored in Toronto. That’s a pretty darn good week or so. Yeah. Yeah. So that’s uh that’s why I’m saying I felt like that’s where kind of kind of took off and uh obviously uh I think I was playing pretty good until the break and even when we came back from the break and after that trade deadline happened so I was you know like a lot of offensive guys were out there so uh it’s kind of hard to keep going but um I was happy with with what I did on my second half like tell tell me what are what are your own goals for the season expectations and goals for this here. Um, like I said, like when I felt like I had uh I kind of find myself after Christmas, like obviously I had some good games, bad game, but uh I feel for me this year um I’m looking to have an impact every night. Uh not necessarily on the score sheet, but uh just not coasting around and sometime I felt like I was playing a game to not crack eggs. Uh yeah, obviously I didn’t do any mistake tonight, but what did I do offensively? Like nothing. So, uh I’m just looking to be more involved and creating more and uh obviously generating more offense. Uh I don’t know what will really be my role yet, but um I definitely want to be more offensive and uh creating more uh more scoring chance and obviously usually points come with that. But um just for now just looking to be more be more consistent and have a bigger impact night after night. Let’s look ahead to this team with a full year with Miko Rantin. Obviously, Granland isn’t here anymore. Marchman isn’t here. CC there’s some changes, but you guys got Mo Rantin and now you’ve been to the conference final three years in a row or you know, is it is it three? Am I losing my mind today? I’m sleep sleep deprived. Yes, it was. So tell me what you think as you we’re there’s literally two weeks from now the first preseason game. So training camp is almost here. How are you feeling about this coming season with the Stars? I think the expectation as a team is going to be going to be up there. Um obviously you don’t win the Stanley Cup on the first preseason game. So uh I think we just got to go step by step. But, uh, like you said, having Miko a full year, I think, uh, it’s going to be good for us. And having Miro healthy, um, I think people forget how good how good he is as a defenseman. And, um, yeah, I’m looking forward for for that season cuz, uh, we have a hell of a team here and, um, I’m looking forward to see what we can do this year. You guys want have any last things for me? No, I I just want to I want to Good luck, Mav, because I I I think the the kind of player that you are and the style you are, I think I personally think Gully is going to be great for you because it, you know, I mean, you have to be able to play the game with confidence, you know, and you have to be will and you have to let offensive players make mistakes. I mean, you can’t just those days have changed. They have to be able you have to be able to play free and do what you do. You can’t be worried about making a mistake when you’re out on the ice playing, right? Because it’s just going to get in your head. Mav, it’s absolute pleasure. The couple segments just flew by. We have lots more we could talk to you about. So, we’ll see you at the rink soon, but uh we really appreciate it and hope the rest of your summer very fleeting is very good. Thanks, Maverick. Thanks, Maverick. Perfect. Thank you guys.

Dallas Stars forward Mavrik Bourque appeared as a guest on the DLLS Stars Podcast on Monday, September 8, 2025 and talked about how a preseason injury derailed the start of his NHL rookie season in 2024-25, how he had to play catch up because of that injury and how he believes he has a lot more to give, and show, on the ice in his sophomore campaign.