Soon, two members of the Bourque family will have been inducted into Hockey Halls of Fame.
“I found out in early September,” Chris Bourque said of his American Hockey League (AHL) Hall of Fame selection. He said AHL President Scott Howson “called me with the exciting news.”
Bourque will be joining his father Raymond Bourque, who was inducted into the Toronto-based Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004 after 22 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons. Chris Bourque will be inducted on Feb. 11, 2026.
The news comes as Chris Bourque, following an 18-year professional playing career at hockey’s highest levels, pursues his new role as a scout for the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs.
On the day after this Thanksgiving, Bourque faced a challenging work schedule. After landing at Boston’s Logan International Airport, and before finding his way home in the Boston suburbs to his wife, Kimberly, and his two children, Bourque in his new role was at Bright-Landry Hockey Center to evaluate the Harvard–University of Michigan game.
Michigan visited Boston as USA Men’s College Hockey top-ranked Division 1 program.
As director of college scouting and player recruitment for the Maple Leafs, Bourque has found that life on the road is now the norm. Before turning professional, and after being drafted by the Washington Capitals in the second round (the 33rd pick overall) of the NHL’s Entry Draft in June 2004, Bourque put in a year’s service with Boston University’s hockey program. Skating 35 games for the Boston University Terriers as a 19-year-old under the guidance of legendary coach Jack Parker offered Bourque additional hockey IQ at the start of his AHL journey.
“After our [BU] season ended, Washington called,” Bourque told The Epoch Times. “I got to finish the season with [the AHL Portland Pirates/Washington affiliate]. At the time, I was naive about the pro game. During the six games that I skated, since Portland (Maine) is so close to Boston, it was great to have a lot of my buddies come up to watch me play. That was the year of the NHL lockout. Suddenly, I’m playing against men.”
Bourque’s contributions came to a close with the 2018–2019 AHL season, skating for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, a New York Islanders affiliate, which was Bourque’s final campaign in the NHL’s primary development league, after 794 games and 14 seasons.
Few in the AHL’s 90 seasons have skated away with as much hockey hardware as Bourque. On the winning side of three Calder Cup championships and appearing in five total league finals, being selected the AHL’s MVP during the 2015–2016 season and Calder Cup Playoffs MVP in 2009–2010, plus twice leading the league in points scored (2011–2012 and 2015–2016), the selection of Bourque for the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026 was as easy as scoring on an open net.
Being labeled a Hall of Famer is a something Bourque says is going to take some getting used to. He says it’s strange to be referred to as a Hall of Famer but he is proud of the honor. The induction ceremonies will take place at the Coronado Theatre in Rockford, Illinois, home city of the AHL Rockford IceHogs.
“It’s going to be a fun weekend to enjoy. My wife, my two kids, my parents, brother, sister all will be coming to Rockford,” says Bourque, who played for Team USA in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea.
Joining Bourque in the four-member Hall of Fame Class of 2026 is Alexandre Giroux. Bourque and Giroux were AHL Hershey Bears teammates on the consecutive Calder Cup championship (2008–2009 and 2009–2010) teams.
“It’s very cool to have Alex going into the Hall of Fame with me,” said Bourque, who skated for five different AHL teams. “He was a great goal scorer. Next weekend in Hershey [Pennsylvania], Alex and I are going into the Bears’ Hall of Fame. During my career, we roomed for one year together. I consider Alex a close friend.”
Although Bourque doesn’t give any hints about his acceptance speech at the induction ceremony, he does say he will give thanks to all the people who supported his career. Front and center will be Kimberly Bourque. The two have been together since high school.
“I was at my dad’s induction ceremonies. I was a freshman at BU, we had no game that weekend, so I was sitting front row in Toronto. What an incredible time it was. So many NHL legends were on hand.”
The one AHL memory that Bourque wishes would have turned out differently was the 2015 Calder Cup Finals, with Hershey losing to the Lake Erie Monsters in a four-game sweep.
“I was lucky to reach the five Calder Cup Finals. In 2016, my brother Ryan was my teammate on the Bears. That one stings. I would have really liked to have won the championship with him.”
Bourque skated in 51 NHL games and nearly 800 at AHL rinks over 14 years, a tenure that he says was more rewarding than he could have predicted coming out of college. Now, in February in Rockford, the icing on the cake will come when Howson presents Bourque with his Hall of Fame ring.
Two Hall of Famers in the same family is extremely rare, and well deserved in the Bourque family.
