Bournival impresses his old junior coach
Hard work, tenacity have served rookie forward well in NHL
When Éric Veilleux has watched his former protégé, Michael Bournival, this fall he’s been struck by how quickly he moves on the ice.
“I was really, really, really impressed by his speed,” said Veilleux, who coached the Canadiens rookie for four years in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Shawinigan Cataractes.
“He’s able to apply pressure for a full 30, full 40 seconds easy,” said Veilleux, now head coach of the Baie Comeau Drakkar in the QMJHL.
“If you watch a hockey game, you rarely see somebody being able to pressure the puck-carrier or skate the way he (does) now.”
Bournival was alsoa speedy skater in junior, although National Hockey League scouts at the time questioned whether he could get faster, according to Veilleux.
“They thought he was going to be an average skater at the NHL level,” said Veilleux, who acknowledged he hadn’t been sure if Bournival would be able to be really fast at that level.
“And the credit goes all to him, obviously,” Veilleux added.
Bournival’s speed — among other things — has won praise this fall from Canadiens coach Michel Therrien, who has said the rookie provokes good things with his quickness.
Hard work and tenacity have served the 21-year-old well.
The quiet forward added about 10 pounds to his 5-foot-11 frame last summer, weighing in at training camp at 196 pounds. He landed a roster spot and has been one of the bright spots for the Canadiens, playing solid hockey on Tomas Plekanec’s line earlier in the season and now on the fourth line with Ryan White and Travis Moen.
Veilleux said that when Bournival started his junior career at age 16, “it was clear that he had the potential to one day become an NHL player, the way he conducted himself, the way he came to training camp, the maturity he had with his training, No. 1.
“And having spoken with his parents as well at that age, you knew right away that the kid was very, very well-raised and grounded.”
A natural centre, Bournival also played left and right wing for the Cataractes in his hometown of Shawinigan. He was captain of the team in 2012 when the Cataractes won their first Memorial Cup and got an assist on the game-winning goal in overtime.
Bournival spent last season with the Hamilton Bulldogs, the Canadiens’ farm club in the American Hockey League.
The Canadiens have mainly used him on the left wing. Going into Wednesday’s game against the New Jersey Devils, Bournival had six goals and five assists in 24 games, averaging 11:26 of ice time per game.
The Colorado Avalanche selected him in the third round of the 2010 NHL draft (71st overall), then traded him the same year to the Cana- diens for defenceman Ryan O’Byrne. Bournival was still in junior at the time.
“He had this old-school mentality, which I think is good — if you want to get more than anybody else on the club or in the league, you need to do more,” Veilleux said.
“Everything he does, he does all out.”
Bournival said last month that he believed his success since the start of the season comes from working.
“So I work hard, whether it’s off the ice or on the ice,” he said.
“That’s the good part about a hockey player like this,” his former coach said. “On a bad day, that’s the type of player you’re going to have. On a good day, you’re going to see the same player and maybe him racking up some points.”
Bournival has a great shot
Bournival “had this old-school mentality. Everything he does, he does it all out.”
ÉRIC VEILLEUX
and can make plays under pressure, Veilleux said.
“He’s probably better at the NHL level for the reason that he doesn’t have as much time,” the coach said. “Not that he can’t think with the puck, but he’s not the fancy type of player. He’s not now and he wasn’t at the junior level. So, for example, you get on the power play and sometimes people are looking for the perfect goal and he was part of that, too. So that did not fit quite into his game. But he’s got a great shot and under pressure he’s able to make nifty passes in a highpressure situation.”
Bournival more than fits right in with the Canadiens, Veilleux added.
“For me, he’s an NHL player. He’s proven that he’s able to do it on a consistent basis. And I’m not even worried about him, No. 1, staying grounded and, No. 2, him knowing how he got there and what to do to stay there.”