Kaylyn Bourque is known for scoring goals, but she’s also known for setting them. The Casco Bay U19 star from Benton, Maine is the leading goal scorer for the Mariners. What people don’t know is that her road to success has been fueled by her passion for the game of hockey and for promoting women’s sports.
At 15 years old, Kaylyn Bourque was a sophomore at Lawrence High School playing for the Gardiner, Winslow, Cony, Messalonskee, Maranacook, Erskine, Lawrence, co-op team called the Black Tigers when something happened after the game that would change her life and inspire positive change for others. 
From left to right: Brian Bourque, Greg Glynn, Kaylyn Bourque and Cathy Bourque. Photo courtesy: Pliable Marketing
After the game she met up with Greg Glynn, founder and CEO of Pliable Marketing. While watching Kaylyn play he noticed that the name on their jerseys didn’t match the name of their team. He found out from Kaylyn’s mom, Cathy, that the name on the front was “Black Raiders” because they were hand-me-down jerseys from the boys hockey team, the Winslow Black Raiders.
Glynn, who works with athletes across the country on athlete branding name, image and likeness partnerships, was shocked that the team didn’t have their accurate team name on the front of their uniforms.
“I thought to myself how are these athletes ever going to get noticed by coaches at the college level if they don’t even have the right name on their jersey.”
Glynn immediately noticed Bourque’s talent, but also her passion to promote women’s sports. The two teamed up, and Kaylyn Bourque became the first Pliable athlete in the country. As part of the process, Bourque and Glynn realized the opportunity to increase the popularity of women’s sports. Shortly after that, Kaylyn was selected as the company’s first ambassador for Mission E50 and initiative to increase the popularity of women’s sports, additionally the hashtag #MissionE50 was born.
Glynn, who broadcasts for games on EpicVue Studios which broadcasts the Mariners games has become very close with Bourque family, who shares in the mission to promote women’s sports.
Today, more than two years after two have been working together, Kaylyn Bourque has since transferred to Kents Hill School where she has been one of the top scorers the past two seasons and was recently named to the Vaillancourt Conference First-Team.
In addition to her work on the ice, she continues to be the leading force behind Mission E50. One reason is because she told her sister, Alyssa, a Division 1 track and field athlete at the University of Vermont about the initiative. Since then, the Bourque sisters have become the face of Mission E50 and are empowering young girls to go after their dreams. A search on social media for the hashtag #MissionE50 and you’ll see what they started, it’s an impressive movement started by the two sisters from Maine.
Kaylyn says the new PWHL has been such a motivating factor for her and young girls to see that they can play professional hockey.
“The PWHL is really cool because it gives young girls an opportunity to play professional hockey. Growing up, the Olympics were the pinnacle for female ice hockey players, but now the new league gives more hockey players a chance to play after college and beyond. I am excited about how popular the league has become in a very short amount of time. I look up to those players as important role models and so do a lot of players I know , they are trailblazers for our sport,” said Bourque.
Today, Mission E50 is stronger than ever, with more than 35 ambassadors, including 28 female athletes, working with Pliable. In fact, female athletes make up 75% of the company’s clients. Mission E50 projects have also contributed more than $10,000 to local organizations and nonprofits through promoting women’s sports. Part of this number includes $2,500 from when Kaylyn Bourque partnered with the Waterville Humane Society as part of her first-ever name, image and likeness partnership, donating her time and compensation to the organization to support animals.
In addition to Bourque, Pliable Marketing also represents seven other division, one women’s ice hockey players, including 2023 Miss Hockey, Ella Boerger from Andover, Minnesota who recently wrote a powerful op-ed in the Minnesota Star-Tribune.
“Kaylyn has empowered so many young female athletes to share their voice. Without Kaylyn Bourque, Mission E50 wouldn’t be where it is today. I will always remember meeting Kaylyn for the first time and seeing her passion for the game of hockey. I will never forget the feeling I had when I saw that she was wearing the jersey with the wrong team name, that fired me up. That situation ignited our passion to do something about it. Kaylyn stepped up and wanted to be part of something special. By working together we have created positive change for women’s sports, and she has inspired others to do the same,” said Glynn.
New name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities are one way that Bourque and Glynn are working together to promote the sport to the next generation. Bourque has recently signed a NIL partnership to be a brand ambassador for Rezztek, a stick tape company that works with high school, college and professional hockey players.
