Regina Pats head coach Curtis Hunt was in a state of shock Thursday after learning that former Team Canada defenceman Luc Bourdon had been killed in a motorcycle crash.

"I just sat there and felt like weeping," Hunt said of his initial reaction to the news. "(He was) a young man in the prime of his life with such a great future in a wonderful game. Just 21 years old. As a parent, the last thing you ever want to do is outlive your kids. I just can't imagine what they're going through. To be so young and ... it's gone."

Hunt coached Bourdon twice with Team Canada, winning a silver medal at the 2005 world under-18 championship and gold at the 2007 world juniors. Bourdon was named the tournament's top defenceman at the under-18s that year. Hunt, an assistant with both squads, coached the Canadian defence and worked closely with Bourdon.

"You spend a lot of time with those kids as a group and as individuals," he said. "(Bourdon's tragic death creates) that whole flood of emotions, being a player that you may have had an influence on in terms of his career, and now he's gone. Sometimes it's hard to wrap your head around that. You'll never see that person again."

Hunt had fond memories of his time with Bourdon, noting that as members of a championship team "you always walk together". Bourdon was one of the leaders of the Canadian team at the 2007 world juniors in Sweden, scoring a huge game-tying goal late in a semifinal matchup against the Americans that Canada eventually won in a shootout.

Bourdon, who also won a gold medal at the 2006 world juniors in Vancouver, split last season between the Vancouver Canucks and the AHL's Manitoba Moose. The New Brunswick native played his junior hockey in the QMJHL.

"The way he played is he wanted to be 'the guy,' " added Hunt. "As a person Luc was a quiet guy. He didn't say too much. Just a good kid. It's just another slap in the face, a wake-up and a reminder of how fragile life really is and how much you just have to appreciate every moment."

© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2008

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