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Bournival got into five NHL games with the Bolts in 2017-18. He skated in 19 the year before. Since 2013-14, the 5-foot-11, 198-pound winger has scored just 12 goals and 22 points in 113 career NHL contests. Bournival is on a two-way deal, so we can't see him anywhere but in the AHL. There are too many young forwards faster, smarter and more talented than him.
Bournival made the Montreal roster out of training camp and stayed in the NHL for the season. He suffered a concussion and missed a significant amount of time between February and March, and finished with 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 60 games. He's a two-way centerman who can play on the wing and slots in comfortably anywhere. Because coach Michel Therrien is fond of line tweaking, Bournival played with a few combinations. He's likely to open the season rotating with other forwards on the fourth line.
Bournival, 21, completed his first professional season, scoring 10 goals with 20 assists in 69 games for Hamilton of the AHL after a nice four-year run as a junior. He's a two-way centerman who is versatile enough to play all the forward spots, is good on the faceoff and can play the shutdown role. The organization's long-term plans for him aren't clear, but he can be a capable forward when filling out the bottom two lines.
Bournival is entering his fourth season with his junior team, the Shawinigan Cataractes of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He's been the team's captain the past two years and is considered a leader on ice, if not the most skilled of players. Bournival plays a physical brand of hockey and does that for all 200 feet of ice, which the Canadiens love. At this point, he projects as a third-line forward, unless he develops as a skater with a better sense of attacking the defense.
Selected 71st overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the third round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Scored 62 points in 58 games for the Shawinigan Cataractes of the QMJHL last season. He is at least a couple of seasons away from landing in the NHL.