His first taste of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which came in 2015, took that experience of playing on home ice to a whole new level.
"It was an incredible opportunity and experience. When we got our two home games, we let games slide away. There was a crazy stat that we held the lead in those games for a crazy amount of time and we ended up losing," said Thorburn.
"The experience was, bar none, one of the favourite parts of my career."
If anything could top that, perhaps it came at the end of the 2018-19 season.
Thorburn was in the second year of a two-year contract with the St. Louis Blues, and had spent the majority of that season with their AHL affiliate - the San Antonio Rampage.
He was recalled on April 5 and spent the playoffs with the Blues, who lifted the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history on June 12, 2019.
"To lift that Cup, it was crazy," he said. "I wasn't just lifting it for myself. There are so many people throughout my career that either gave me advice or made sacrifices - family members, my wife - I lifted that Cup for a lot of people. Just for that reason it was super special."
These days, Thorburn and his family are living in Michigan where they've built a house. While the playing part of his hockey career may be over, Thorburn said his experience in San Antonio during his final season gave him a taste of how he could continue to give back to the game he loves so much.
"I took on more of a mentor role. I loved it. I took so much pride in it," said Thorburn. "When I was a younger kid or a younger player, I got that help from the older guys. To come full circle and be that older guy to let the kids lean on and ask questions and advice was super awesome.
"If there was something down the road as far as development or mentor role that I got the opportunity to do, that would be top notch."