Justin Bourne

Justin Bourne
Born (1982-12-12) December 12, 1982 (age 42)
Kelowna, British Columbia, .[1]
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Forward
Shot Right
Played for Bridgeport Sound Tigers
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2006–2009

Justin Bourne (born December 12, 1982) is a Canadian/American sportswriter. A former professional ice hockey player, he has also coached professionally, most recently as an assistant coach for the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.

Playing career

Bourne played collegiate hockey for the University of Alaska Anchorage before ending the 2006-07 season with the ECHL's Alaska Aces. He was signed the following year by the Utah Grizzlies, going on to score 10 goals and 10 assists in a 17-game stretch, and playing in the 2008 ECHL All-Star game.[2]

Writing career

Bourne's writing career began after a serious jaw injury forced him into retirement.[3] In his first year as a columnist for USA Today, his piece on stopping the use of gay slurs in sports encouraged Brendan Burke to tell his story.[4] Alongside USA Today, his articles have been featured across brands including Greg Wyshynski's Puck Daddy, The Hockey News, Hockey Primetime, as well as various other newspapers and websites.

Bourne eventually joined The Score as a featured writer and stats analyst, as well as a senior hockey columnist for The Athletic and Sportsnet.[5]

Coaching career

On November 25, 2015, Bourne left his position at The Score to become an assistant coach for the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, working with the team's video coaching for two seasons.[6]

Personal life

Bourne's father Bob won the Stanley Cup four times as a centre for the New York Islanders. Bourne is currently married to Brianna, daughter of former NHL all-star Clark Gillies.[7]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2001–02 Vernon Vipers BCHL 60 26 29 55 31 — — — — —
2002–03 Vernon Vipers BCHL 60 32 44 76 52 — — — — —
2003–04 University of Alaska Anchorage WCHA 40 4 13 17 6 — — — — —
2004–05 University of Alaska Anchorage WCHA 37 12 11 23 10 — — — — —
2005–06 University of Alaska Anchorage WCHA 35 5 8 13 14 — — — — —
2006–07 University of Alaska Anchorage WCHA 37 10 21 31 14 — — — — —
2006–07 Alaska Aces ECHL 9 3 3 6 4 8 3 2 5 6
2007–08 Utah Grizzlies ECHL 50 16 15 31 46 13 2 0 2 2
2007–08 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 16 2 3 5 2 — — — — —
2008–09 Reading Royals ECHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2008–09 Idaho Steelheads ECHL 11 1 1 2 21 — — — — —
AHL totals 16 2 3 5 2 — — — — —

Awards and honors

Honours Year
ECHL
All-Star Game 2008

References

  1. ^ "Justin Bourne Stats and News". NHL.com. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  2. ^ "Keith Johnson, Justin Bourne Named All-Stars". Utah Grizzlies. 2008-01-14. Archived from the original on 2010-12-31.
  3. ^ Bourne, Justin (2009-02-15). "Justin Bourne's Blog: A love-hate relationship with hockey". The Hockey News. Archived from the original on 2016-05-01. Retrieved 2010-10-30.
  4. ^ Wyshynski, Greg (2008-11-25). "Does Brian Burke's gay son change anything for hockey culture?". Puck Daddy Blog. Yahoo! Sports.
  5. ^ "Justin Bourne to join Sportsnet's multi-platform hockey coverage". sportsnet.ca. November 7, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  6. ^ Silverman, Cat (2015-11-25). "JUSTIN BOURNE JOINS MARLIES COACHING STAFF". theleafsnation.com. The Nation Network.
  7. ^ Compton, Brian (January 23, 2022). "Gillies death has Bourne recalling when Islanders teammates became family". nhl.com. Retrieved April 17, 2023. Roughly 20 years later, Gillies' daughter, Brianna, and Bourne's son, Justin, reunite at Bourne's induction into the Islanders Hall of Fame. They start dating, fall in love, get married and have two children.