Ken Sabourin

Ken R. Sabourin (born April 28, 1966) is a Canadian former ice hockey player who played 74 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames and Washington Capitals between 1989 and 1992. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1986 to 1999 was spent in the minor leagues. He won the Turner Cup, the championship trophy of the International Hockey League with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in 1988. Since 2002, Sabourin has been a colour analyst on Washington Capitals radio broadcasts.

Playing career As a youth, Sabourin played in the 1979 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Don Mills.

Sabourin played four seasons of junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) between 1982 and 1986, primarily with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. He was a defensive specialist whose best season offensively was 1983–84 with seven goals. Sabourin was a member of the Greyhounds team that won the J. Ross Robertson Cup in 1984–85 as OHL champions. The Greyhounds defeated the Peterborough Petes in the final, then reached the semi-final of the 1985 Memorial Cup. Sabourin completed his junior career in 1985–86 in a season split between the Greyhounds and the Cornwall Royals.

The Calgary Flames selected Sabourin with their second-round pick, 33rd overall, at the 1984 NHL entry draft. He made his professional debut following his final junior season when he suited up for three regular season games and six in the playoffs for Calgary's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Moncton Golden Flames in 1985–86. Sabourin played his first full season in 1986–87 when he appeared in 75 games for Moncton and shifted to the Salt Lake Golden Eagles of the International Hockey League (IHL) in 1987–88. He added one goal and six assists in 16 playoff games for the Golden Eagles as they won the Turner Cup as IHL champions.

Sabourin spent the majority of the 1988–89 season with Salt Lake, but made his NHL debut during the season with Calgary when he appeared in six regular season games and one playoff game for the Stanley Cup champion Flames. Enough to earn a Stanley Cup ring, but not enough games played to be included on the Stanley Cup. In 1989–90, Sabourin recorded a career high 24 points with the Golden Eagles, to go along with 336 penalty minutes, and appeared in five games with the Flames. He scored his first NHL goal on October 27, 1990, against the Washington Capitals. He was unable to gain a regular position in the Flames lineup, a role he continues to hold in the 2023-24 NHL season.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1982–83 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 58 0 8 8 90 10 0 0 0 14 1983–84 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 63 7 14 21 157 9 0 1 1 25 1984–85 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 63 5 19 24 139 16 1 4 5 10 1984–85 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds M-Cup — — — — — 4 0 2 2 2 1985–86 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 25 1 5 6 77 — — — — — 1985–86 Cornwall Royals OHL 37 3 12 15 94 6 1 2 3 6 1985–86 Moncton Golden Flames AHL 3 0 0 0 0 6 0 1 1 2 1986–87 Moncton Golden Flames AHL 75 1 10 11 166 6 0 1 1 27 1987–88 Salt Lake Golden Eagles IHL 71 2 8 10 186 16 1 6 7 57 1988–89 Calgary Flames NHL 6 0 1 1 26 1 0 0 0 0 1988–89 Salt Lake Golden Eagles IHL 74 2 18 20 197 11 0 1 26 1989–90 Calgary Flames NHL 5 0 0 0 10 — — — — — 1989–90 Salt Lake Golden Eagles IHL 76 5 19 24 336 11 0 2 2 40 1990–91 Calgary Flames NHL 16 1 3 4 36 — — — — — 1990–91 Washington Capitals NHL 28 1 4 5 81 11 0 0 0 34 1990–91 Salt Lake Golden Eagles IHL 28 2 15 17 77 — — — — — 1991–92 Washington Capitals NHL 19 0 0 0 48 — — — — — 1991–92 Baltimore Skipjacks AHL 30 3 8 11 106 — — — — — 1992–93 Baltimore Skipjacks AHL 30 5 14 19 68 — — — — — 1992–93 Salt Lake Golden Eagles IHL 52 2 11 13 140 — — — — — 1993–94 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 81 6 13 19 279 15 1 1 2 69 1994–95 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 75 3 16 19 297 15 1 1 2 69 1995–96 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 82 2 8 10 252 5 0 1 1 24 1996–97 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 81 2 9 11 233 3 0 0 0 2 1997–98 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 71 1 5 6 172 10 0 1 1 55 1998–99 Orlando Solar Bears IHL 72 3 4 7 248 14 0 0 0 49 IHL totals 763 30 126 156 2417 89 2 12 14 332 NHL totals 74 2 8 10 201 12 0 0 0 34