Even a big promotion in his hockey career wasn’t going to make Josh Bourne put away his lacrosse stick.
The 19-year-old from Richmond will be entering his first full season in the B.C. Hockey League come September with the Nanaimo Clippers.
He signed with the club back in January soon after his former spring hockey coach Darren Naylor took over the GM and head coaching duties. Bourne went on to post 19 points in 22 games, including 10 goals, and will be one of the Clippers key players for the coming 2018-19 campaign.
His productive debut was hardly a surprise given what Bourne had done in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League.
After coming through Seafair Minor Hockey’s rep program he decided to head to the Interior league where one of his best friend’s older brother happened to play. Bourne earned a roster spot with the Chase Heat and made an instant impression.
In his first full season, he managed 57 points in 44 regular season games then led the entire league in playoff scoring as the Heat fell to Beaver Valley in the 2017 championship series.
He was on a blistering pace with a league best 54 points in 28 games this past year when the Clippers added him as an affiliate and eventually landed him full-time.
Bourne is now skating twice a week in preparation for the coming season but also has a leading role with the Richmond Roadrunners of the B.C. Junior “B” Tier One Lacrosse League as the team captain and top scorer.
He admitted there was some thought of sticking to only on ice workouts over the off-season but his passion for lacrosse won over.
“It’s really cool to be able to play two sports at a high level,” said Bourne who is top five in league scoring with 44 points in 13 games. “Basically growing up (for the last 14 years) I have always played hockey and lacrosse. There was a little bit of thinking of maybe sticking to hockey training but all my friends are playing and I just love it.
“It definitely helps with the eye/hand coordination and the cardio too. It keeps me in shape over the off-season.”
The Roadrunners are on a roll of late with four wins in their last five games as they look to solidify a playoff spot. Bourne says he will remain with the team right through to the end of the season sometime in July before turning his full-time attention back to hockey in preparation for training camp.
“It’s a big jump. Just a way better league,” added Bourne of his transition to the BCHL. “Just speed of the game and everyone is thinking just that much quicker. But it was super fun and Darren really like to play that up-tempo game where you are always chasing the puck.”
