David Shoalts
PITTSBURGH — Globe and Mail Update Last updated on Monday, Mar. 30, 2009 03:48PM EDT
Losing his best friend has left Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Kris Letang feeling like he cannot play hockey.
Letang as well as Luc Bourdon's family was devastated on Thursday when the 21-year-old defenceman for the Vancouver Canucks lost control of his motorcycle and was killed when he hit a transport truck head-on near his hometown of Shippagan, N.B.
Letang, 21, played with Bourdon for two seasons with the Val d'Or Foreurs in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. They quickly became best friends and roommates and won a gold medal together for Canada at the 2006 world junior hockey championship.
"I still can't believe it," Letang said Friday after his team's practice in preparation for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final against the Detroit Red Wings.
"It is so tough for me to lose my best friend. I don't know why, but this morning I have no energy. I couldn't skate. I lost so much energy since it happened [Thursday]."
Letang said he last spoke to Bourdon three days ago. They were planning to take a vacation together when Letang was finished playing in the NHL's championship series. Bourdon also told Letang about his new motorcycle, which he purchased just three days before the accident.
Bourdon had just recently learned to drive motorcycles and the police believe a strong gust of wind caused him to lose control and veer into the path of the truck.
Letang said Bourdon was "pretty excited" about his new purchase and always loved driving "sports stuff like SeaDoos, sports cars, whatever."
"We talked about it," Letang said. "We knew it was dangerous, but he had fun with it. I know he didn't do, like, speed with it. He just had a bad move or something. Those things, you have no second chance."
Letang, who was repaced in the Penguins' lineup for Game 3 by the more experienced Darryl Sydor, said Bourdon was a special kind of friend.
"He was someone I could always talk about my tough times and someone that always liked to have fun," Letang said. "He was a really funny guy. He was a guy who always stuck up for you and was always there for you."
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