Born in Timmins, Ontario, Courville was originally drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in the fifth round (119th overall) of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. He had an excellent final OHL season in 1994–95 in which he scored 73 points and was a key component of Canada's gold medal-winning team at the 1995 World Junior Championships, but was unable to come to contract terms with Winnipeg. As a result, he re-entered the draft and was selected 61st overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1995 NHL draft.