Bourque says goodbye to BU

After just one year in scarlet and white, freshman hockey star Chris Bourque will leave Boston University to play for the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior League, sources confirmed over the weekend.

Bourque, who could not be reached Sunday, verbally committed to BU during his early years at Cushing Academy in Ashburnham and was unanimously selected to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team this season after tallying 10 goals and 13 assists in 35 games. The Topsfield native and son of Bruins legend Raymond Bourque told The Boston Globe that academic problems weighed heavily in his decision to leave Commonwealth Avenue for the high-scoring and high-profile QMJHL.

Other members of the Terriers refused to comment when reached by phone Sunday, saying only that they wouldn't comment on the decision until after the Bourque family releases a statement.

Moncton, which is currently in the opening round of the playoffs, chose Bourque with the 204th overall pick in the 2003 QMJHL draft, hoping that he would forgo his college career entirely. The Wildcats now have been granted their wish, just one year later than planned.

Bourque will not be eligible to join the Wildcats until the 2005-06 season, but he is expected to leave school immediately. He will likely become one of the higher profile players in the league, which already includes star forward Sidney Crosby, who likely would've been the top pick in this year's NHL Draft had it not been canceled. Crosby was one of four players who scored more than 100 points this season in the offensive-minded QMJHL, a league in which Chris' father Ray played.

As a second-round selection of the Washington Capitals in last year's NHL Draft, it is likely that Bourque will eventually end up either in the nation's capital or in Portland, Maine as a member of the Portland Pirates, the Capitals' American Hockey League affiliate.

The Terriers are left with 10 rising sophomores for next season, led by another Hockey East All-Rookie Team member, forward Pete MacArthur. BU will also welcome another highly touted recruiting class this fall, including forwards Brandon Yip (British Columbia Hockey League) and Jason Lawrence (USA Hockey National Team Development Program). Minus Bourque and senior forwards Brian McConnell and Matt Radoslovich, the Terriers will return 12 forwards next season.