The RCMP is investigating whether high winds and driver inexperience contributed to the motorcycle crash that killed promising Vancouver Canucks defenceman Luc Bourdon.

Bourdon only had a motorcycle licence for two weeks before his new bike veered into the path of an oncoming tractor-trailer on a road near his hometown of Shippagan, N.B., early Thursday afternoon.

Adding to the tragedy, it appears that Bourdon's girlfriend may have witnessed the accident.

"Luc was riding his motorcycle, he had just passed his girlfriend who was riding in front of him in a car and somehow he ended up in the oncoming lane in the path of an oncoming tractor-trailer," RCMP spokesperson, Sgt. Derek Strong, told Canada AM Friday.

Strong said that the driver of the tractor-trailer did what he could to avoid Bourdon, but in the end they had a head-on collision.

Bourdon was wearing a helmet, but Strong said that because both vehicles were travelling at highway speeds, the 21-year-old didn't stand a chance. Police were nearby when the accident occurred, and on the scene within minutes, he added.

Strong said they were looking at whether high winds factored into the accident and that the area where the accident took place was "quite gusty."

The accident took place in a meadow on Route 113, Strong said, making the area susceptible to strong gusts of wind.

Bourdon's uncle, Robert Boucher, said his nephew came home earlier this week for a much-needed one-month vacation. He said that Bourdon dedicated himself so much to his sport he did not have any time off in the last five years.

"He loved to have fun," Boucher said in French in Shippagan's town hall at a news conference Friday. "Like anyone who is 21, he loved motorcycles. He wanted to buy a bike. That was his choice."

Boucher said Bourdon bought the bike because so many of his friends owned one.

Bourdon had a bright career ahead of him, according to hockey analysts. He was the Canucks first-round pick, 10th overall, in the 2005 NHL draft.

He split time in the 2007-2008 season between the Canucks and the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. He has two goals and no assists in 27 games with the parent organization.

Bourdon was a proven winner, winning gold for Canada at both the 2006 and 2007 world junior hockey championships.

He also made it to the Memorial Cup finals as a member of the Moncton Wildcats in 2006.

Canucks Assistant GM Steve Tambellini told CTV British Columbia Thursday that the loss is devastating to the team.

"It's not a lot of fun when you get news like that of any family member, and he's one of our family members within our hockey team," he said.

"He was just on the cusp of being rewarded for all the hard work that he put in as a young man. And he was just starting to show his character, and it's just an incredibly sad day."

With files from The Canadian Press