In his first full season with Tampa Bay Lightning, Yanni has been very Gourde

By Dan Herrejon | @DanHerrejon | Like us on Facebook
October 27, 2017

Yanni Gourde is tenaciously making the most of his ice time as part of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s second line. It would probably would not come to the surprise of anyone that Gourde is the least known forward of Tampa’s top six.

He plays on the same line as last year’s surprise rookie, Brayden Point and with former Triplet, Ondrej Palat. Gourde’s height on the roster is listed at 5’9”. Only Tyler Johnson keeps Gourde from having the distinction of being the smallest Lightning.

Maybe one reason some people overlook Gourde is his size but that belies what is seen on the ice. He often plays several inches above his listed height. His relentless forechecking has allowed his line to repeatedly maintain the puck in the offensive zone and has led to numerous scoring opportunities for himself and his linemates.

Gourde uses his speed and the aforementioned tenacity to outwork the opposing lines. More often lately, we are seeing the Point line matched up against the top scoring lines of Tampa’s opponents. The play of Gourde, Point and Palat has given head coach Jon Cooper the confidence to roll them out against the other guy’s big guns.

Averaging close to 17 minutes (16:40) of ice time per game through the team’s first eleven, Gourde has a goal and four assists. That ice time is seventh best among the team’s forwards yet Gourde is tied for fifth on the team in takeaways.

Like some players, the effort put forth by Gourde goes mostly unnoticed because he’ll never lead the team in goals or assists. He won’t be at the top for hits or blocked shots. But shift after shift, Gourde is one of those types of players that leaves it all on the ice. While it may sound like a cliche, giving 100% is the only way he knows how to play.

Coming off the ice there is no second guessing as to whether Gourde could have played harder on that last shift. No one is thinking, ‘jeez Gourde didn’t finish that check or was mailing it in there’. Doesn’t happen.

He must cause fits for the players he lines up against. He has been out there against Crosby’s line when Tampa played the Penguins twice. Gourde was out there against Ovechkin after Ovie scored seven goals in Washington’s first two games. Point, Gourde and Palat were out there most of the night against Ovechkin’s line and Ovie didn’t register a point that night as Tampa beat the Capitals 4 – 3.

All the accolades and attention Gourde is receiving are new territory for him. Undrafted by by the NHL, Gourde toiled in the Quebec Major Junior League for three seasons. His offensive progress was textbook growth for the junior ranks.

His first season for the Victoriaville Tigers, Gourde averaged 0.47 points per game in 59 games. Not bad for a kid in his first Junior year. But then, in year two, Gourde more than doubled that output by producing 68 points (26G, 42A) in 68 games.

Gourde wasn’t done. Sometimes a silly thing like not getting drafted cements a chip on a kid’s shoulder that makes them want to prove to the NHL that they were wrong and he has the goods. In his third season in Victoriaville, Gourde averaged 1.82 points in his 68 games. Ladies and gentlemen, that kind of progression is the result of many things but chief among them is work ethic.

Gourde was sending a message to any who might listen or watch that he has something to prove to a league that deemed him unworthy. “Sorry kid, we don’t have a slot for you” was simply not accepted by Gourde. He was going to achieve his dream by outworking all those around him.

Jumping up to the American Hockey League for the Worcester Sharks, Gourde was back to square one. Scoring 14 points (8G, 6A) in 54 games didn’t exactly set the world ablaze but there was no quit in Gourde.

After that initial AHL stumble, Gourde was playing in the East Coast Hockey League in Kalamazoo where he seemed to regain his offensive touch. Registering 34 points in 30 games, Gourde worked his way back onto the roster at Worcester in the AHL where he scored 24 points in 25 games but was let go by the Sharks.

Then Gourde was quickly signed by the Tampa Bay Lightning in March of 2014 and was assigned to Syracuse. He played for Syracuse for a couple seasons before getting a call to go to Tampa for a pair of games in December of the 2015-16 season, recording an assist in his first NHL game at Toronto on Dec. 15.

Last season, Gourde started the season back in Syracuse and scored 48 (22G, 26A) points in 56 games before injuries earned him another call up to Tampa. Gourde continued to impress with eight points in 20 games and proved a big part of the team’s late season surge. It earned him his first one-way NHL contract, choosing to re-sign with Tampa Bay for two years instead of testing the free agent market.

During this year’s training camp, not many figured Gourde would have a chance to be in a top six role for the Lightning. Fortunately, that chip is still securely fastened to Gourde. He had a tremendous training camp and like his new linemate, Point, did last season, surprised any naysayers and landed on the second line.

Perhaps that is Gourde’s deal. He wasn’t drafted. Not many looked at this kid and said: “Oh yeah, this kid can’t miss”. His route to the NHL was not one that many take. Maybe it’s because many others give up while on this mercurial route.

None of this matters as much as what Gourde does now. He has worked his tail off to be on the second line of the top team in the NHL right now. Doesn’t matter that he wasn’t drafted. Doesn’t matter that he bounced from the QMJHL to the AHL then to the ECHL then back to the AHL before he got his shot.

The only thing that matters is that Gourde continues the level of play we have seen last season and so far this season. Playing on the second line of one of the league’s best teams will payoff for Gourde. We all know he will maintain his relentless and tenacious defense.

When Gourde finds his scoring touch he can hit somewhere in the neighborhood of 12-15 goals. While that may not sound impressive, on a team with Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos and Point, Gourde does not have to score to help the team.

But he will bring his lunch pail to work every single game for the Tampa Bay Lightning. His team as well as fans of the team are happy he is punching the clock for the Bolts.