Plymouth, MI- The GBL Boston Jr. Bruins are proud to congratulate alumnus Ryan Bourque on his new position as an assistant coach for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 Team.

Bourque, who played for the NTDP from 2007-09, began his coaching career in March 2022 with the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL and stayed with the team until the NTDP came calling.

"One of the best things about the hockey world is that you develop an extensive network," said Bourque. "I'm very fortunate to have met a lot of people who would guide me through each stage of my life. Leaving hockey is something that no player looks forward to, and once you step outside, it's very challenging to get back in, so I was extremely fortunate to get that job."

Bourque arrived at Cushing Academy in 2005 as a true freshman and joined the GBL Bruins for the fall of 2006.

"I arrived the year after the last national championship [in 2006,] but we had a great team. GBL has always held a special place in my heart," he recalled. "The coaches were unbelievable and I looked forward to playing with those guys every weekend.

"Being away at prep school, things could get a bit tiresome, as you rarely have any reason to leave campus. You get a bit homesick and you miss having friends at other schools, so it was great to play with guys who would become rivals once the prep season started. The hockey was a very high level, and it gives you a chance to build new relationships outside of school. I think a lot of the guys were having the same experience that I was, so the team became very close very quickly."

After his sophomore year at Cushing, Bourque accepted an invitation to join the NTDP, then based in Ann Arbor, MI. His two-year stint with the program included two medals at the IIHF World Under-18 Championships, a bronze in 2008 and a gold in 2009, and culminated with his selection by the New York Rangers with the 80th pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Once his time in Ann Arbor concluded, Bourque signed with the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, where he played from 2009 to 2011. In his two seasons with the Remparts, he also played for Team USA at the World Junior Championships and collecting two medals, a gold in 2010 and bronze in 2011.

For the next nine seasons, he played for four different AHL teams and suited up for the New York Rangers in one game in April 2015.

After the 2020 season, he announced his retirement from hockey and accepted a position in business development for an energy company on Cape Cod, where he stayed for two years before accepting an assistant coaching job with the Stingrays.

"The Stingrays had a coaching vacancy late in the [2021-22] season and [fellow Cushing alum] Ryan Warsofsky had recommended me for the position. He started his coaching career there and told me how much it helped him professionally and convinced me to take it," he noted.

"It was a great decision. I was blessed to work with Brenden Kotyk," he continued. "The team was basically a two-man operation. Brenden and I did everything from enforcing curfew during road trips to working on salary cap compliance along with coaching the team. I didn't know much about what it took to run a team from a front office perspective, but I learned very quickly. It helps build character and it teaches you everything you need to learn if you want to move on."

Once the NTDP assistant coach position opened, Bourque knew he had to apply for it.

"The NTDP has changed a lot since I was there," he noted. "When I was going through the interview process, I learned just how much USA Hockey changed the last 30 years. As great as the program was for me and my development, it's made a huge step forward. It says a lot about the people in charge of USA Hockey and the NTDP."

"I had never seen the [USA Hockey] Arena in Plymouth, so my first time there, I was blown away," he stated. "It shows the time and energy that is put into the program and I'm looking forward to helping them grow."

Aside from the new arena, Bourque looks forward to working with Head Coach Nick Fohr and Assistant Coach Matt Gilroy.

"[Head Coach] Nick [Fohr] knows so much about the game; he has a lot of experience coaching college hockey and has been with the NTDP for a long time, so I know I will learn a lot from him. Being able to coach alongside him is an honor," he noted, "and I remember playing with [Assistant Coach] Matt Gilroy with [the AHL's] Hartford [Wolfpack.] Matt was there during the NHL lockout and took care of a lot of the younger guys, including me, and I'm grateful to be reunited with him."

Congratulations and best of luck to Ryan and the Bourque family!