Stephanie Bourque’s Path to the PWHL Draft Started on Backyard Rinks
From Moncton to a record-setting NCAA career, the Union captain reflects on the mindset, leadership, and consistency that shaped her path to the PWHL Draft.
For Stephanie Bourque, it started with not wanting to be outdone by her brother.
“I wanted to do everything that they did,” Stephanie said of her older siblings. “I just had to be better at them than everything. I kind of just really wanted to be better than my brother. That was the big one for me. So I followed him around and would train with him a little bit here and there. I think he pushed me to join hockey.”
My full conversation with Stephanie Bourque is available on YouTube.
Growing up in Moncton, New Brunswick, that sibling rivalry became the spark. But it was her father who turned it into something more.
“He’s really the one that made me realize what it took to achieve those dreams that I had,” Stephanie said. “He pushed me past my limits at such a young age. He coached me for more than six years before I left for Stanstead. He’s the one that made me realize that if I wanted it, I would have to put in the work. No one else can do it for you.”
That foundation carried her to Stanstead College, where she grew into a leader, earning the captaincy in her final season and walking away as the team’s MVP and the JWHL Defensive Player of the Year.
It also shaped the kind of player she would become at Union College, where she chose the program not because it was an obvious path to professional hockey, but because of what it could become.
“I just really wanted to be a part of that change,” Stephanie said. “I wanted to be one of the players that helps the program grow in the right direction. Union is a great academic school and has that small family feel. For me, that was really important.”
Four years later, she leaves as the program’s all-time points and assists leader among defenders, with an ironwoman streak of 141 consecutive games, a Psychology degree, and a season in which she averaged more than 28 minutes per game as the second most-utilized player in NCAA women’s hockey.
Now she’s chasing the 2026 PWHL Draft, where a selection would make her the first defender from New Brunswick to play in the league.
“Being from Moncton and New Brunswick gave me the love for the game,” Stephanie said. “Being able to achieve that dream, not just for myself, but for all my teammates and coaches and my family who have been supporting me throughout my journey.”
She coaches youth hockey back home every summer, and hears from young girls who want to play in the PWHL one day. That’s part of what’s driving her toward this next step.
“It would allow me to continue to grow the game and inspire the next generation of young girls wanting to play professional hockey,” she said.
And for Stephanie Bourque, that’s always been the point.
My full conversation with Stephanie Bourque is available on YouTube.