Yanni Gourde

On Episode 18 of Crunch Chronicles Lukas Favale is joined by Yanni Gourde. Gourde is one of the great success stories of the Crunch's affiliation with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Gourde's time with the organization began late in the 2013-14 season when he contributed eight points in 18 games with the Crunch. His first full season with the organization was in 2014-15 when he skated in all 76 Crunch games and produced a career-high 57 points, helping the Crunch make the playoffs. In 2015-16, Gourde followed up with a 44-point campaign over 65 games, and he also made his NHL debut for the Tampa Bay Lightning that year. He culminated his Crunch career in 2016-17, powering his way to 48 points in 56 regular season games. He then went on to add 27 points in 22 games during the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs to help the Crunch advance to their second Calder Cup Finals appearance in franchise history. Gourde finished his Crunch career with 215 games played and 157 points (67g, 90a), which ranks eighth all-time in franchise history. He ranks second among Crunch players during the Lightning affiliation.  Gourde graduated to the NHL full time in the 2017-18 season and remained with the Lightning through the 2020-21 season. He was a key part of back-to-back Stanley Cup championships for the Lightning in 2020 and 2021. He was then selected by the Seattle Kraken in the Seattle Expansion Draft and was named an assistant captain for the new team.   On the show, Gourde discusses his time with the Crunch, his Toyota Frozen Dome Classic memories, the team's memorable run to the 2017 Calder Cup Finals and much more.