Everything u ever wanted to know about Alex Burrows

[Tank Hankerous]

DESPITE BEING CUT, BEING DOUBTED, FACING TRAGEDY, AND WANTING TO QUIT, ALEX BURROWS HAS BECOME A BONAFIDE STAR.

HERE IS A SUMMARY OF THE STORY OF HOW THIS GUY MADE IT TO BEING A WINGER ON ONE OF THE BEST LINES IN THE NHL.

• His father Rodney immigrated to Canada from London, England about 40 years ago at age 21. He does not speak much French. He designs fire-protection systems.

• His mother, Carole Burrows is an elementary school principal who is French-Canadian.

• He has one sister who is a year older, and one who is 3 years younger.

• He was born April 11th 1981, and shares a Birthday with Trevor Linden.

• Born in the town of live in Pincourt on ile Perrot, and raised in the Vaudreuil area Burrows played his minor hockey on the West Island for the Westlake Panthers, starting at age 5. He also played pond hockey when the lake would freeze.

• Like his dad, Burrows played soccer. In August of 1992, his Dollard pee-wee I (under-11) soccer team won the Brossard International Challenge Tournament with a 4-2 win over Granby. In July 1993, the next season, his Peewee I soccer team would go on to win the Mini-Mondiale (World Cup) Tournament in Montreal, as well the Chimicella Soccer Tournament.

• In April of 1993, at the age of 12, Burrows' hockey team, the Lac St. Louis West Tigers captured the provincial atom double-A hockey championship. His teammates included Phoenix Coyote Matthew Lombardi and former Canuck Brandon Reid. Burrows always played on the fourth line while Reid and Lombardi were stars.

• He once attended a hockey camp run by then Montreal Canadiens coach Pat Burns.

• At the age of 13, Burrows was chosen to play in the Farmington Valley International Soccer Tournament in Connecticut. His team won the tournament, beating the state champs from Connecticut and New Jersey.

• Burrows also swam and played Tennis growing up.

• Burrows began playing organized ball hockey for the Living Legends Club of Vaudreuil-Dorion when he was 15.

• At 16, Burrows decided to give up soccer to focus on playing Junior hockey.

• Burrows tried out for Junior hockey at 16, and got cut, and couldn't even make his AAA-midget team until he was 17. His small size, being 5'6'' until a growth spurt at age 18 was a factor.

• Instead of going to Major Junior, Burrows was a 7th round draft choice of the Kahnawake Condors of the Quebec Junior AAA (Same as Junior A) in the 1999 draft. They were a new team. He was named their inaugural Captain during the 1999-2000 season, playing for coach Pat Bosch.

• He finally cracked the lineup of his Junior team, the QMJHL's Shawinigan Cataractes as an older player when he was 19. He would play two seasons for them, and although he scored 35 goals in his final season, he went undrafted.

• While Burrows was finishing his Junior career with Shawinigan in 2002, he made friends with a 6'5 240 lb teammate and enforcer named Trevor Ettinger who was a Columbus Blue Jackets prospect. In July 2003, while skating at his hometown rink, Burrows learned his friend was found dead at home, from a self-inflicted gun shot wound.

• In Burrows' final year of Junior, a lawyer and agent named Paul Corbeil was in the stands and was impressed by his work ethic. He signed him and has represented him ever since. Corbeil also represents Ryan Clowe and Marc-Andre Bergeron.

• In the Summer of 2002, Burrows led the Canadian Men's Ball Hockey Nationals in scoring, playing for the Montreal Red Lite.

• His impressive final year in Junior got him some kudos. Burrows was invited to the New York Islanders' 2002 training camp but was cut from the team.

• He decided to launch his pro hockey career in the ECHL. He went to Greenville, South Carolina to play for the Greenville Grrrowl.

• On November 10th 2002, the ECHL suspended Greenville Burrows for one game and teammate David Kaczowka for two games, fined them both undisclosed amounts, and fined their team $500, for their part in an altercation in a game against Louisiana. Burrows' incident included an altercation with a referee.

• Towards the end of the season, the Grrrowl traded him to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he joined the Baton Rouge Kingfish who were folding from the league. They eventually became the Victoria Salmon Kings.

• In the ECHL, Burrows got meal money for 3 meals...34 dollars a day ("No wonder some players would go eat at Burger King or the Waffle House," Burrows said. "Plus, they wanted to save their money for booze later.")

• Most of the ECHL bus trips lasted no more than three hours each way. The players would only get used magazines donated by fans to pass the time. Burrows only had 32 points in 66 games in his first ECHL season and contemplated going back to school or finding another career. He was interested for a long time in being a sportscaster.

• He tried to watch his diet and take care of himself with the measly stipend for food: "I'd try to pack myself little lunches, get some Subway and try to do as much as I could to perform."

• Burrows' ECHL salary was $500 per week.

• In the Summer of 2003, Burrows led the Canadian Men's Ball Hockey Nationals in scoring for the 2nd year in a row. He also won a gold medal for Team Canada at the World Championships in June in Seirre, Switzerland. He served as a Captain and was named Most Valuable Forward in the tournament.

• He was noticed by Manitoba Moose GM Craig Heisinger. He was invited to Canucks prospects camp in Spetember 2003 at age 22, hoping to land a spot on the Moose. He was the star of the prospects game against UBC at Thunderbird Arena scoring 2 goals, and then also at Queen's Park Arena in New Westminster, scoring another pair of goals.

• Burrows was signed by the Columbia Inferno of the ECHL who were then affiliated with the Canucks. Burrows had a great season, and was second in team scoring to his linemate Canuck draft pick Tim Smith, who actually led the league in scoring.

• Just a month into the season, October 2003, Burrows impressive camp and start to the season convinced Heisinger to sign him to a 2 way, ECHL-AHL deal, and call him up for 2 AHL games that year.

• That season, played in the 2004 ECHL All-Star Game for the Eastern Conference and recorded one assist.

• Following the competition, the Peoria Journal-Star, a local newspaper of the All-Star Game host city, conducted a survey of the NHL scouts in attendance and listed Burrows as one of the top four prospects at the game.

• The Manitoba Moose rewarded him for his great season with a two way (ECHL, AHL) contract.

• Burrows spent the summers in Montreal working for his friend, who had a landscaping business. Burrows would cut grass and help out on landscaping jobs.

• He was expected to crack the Moose lineup to start the 2004-05 season (the NHL "lockout season), but was the last cut, and was sent to the Columbia Inferno after a disappointing training camp. He once again contemplated quitting hockey.

• Rather than hang his head, Burrows produced five goals and six points in four games before he was promoted to the AHL when the league expanded roster size by one player due to all the locked out NHLers coming in. He stayed with the Moose for the remainder of the season. His coach: a guy named Alain Vigneault.

• Burrows never went back to the ECHL. In 133 career games in the ECHL, Burrows scored 47 goals and 111 points, along with 463 penalty minutes.

• While with the Moose, Burrows became friends with minor-league journeyman Jimmy Roy, who played 9 years with the Moose. Heisinger said he expected Burrows to be a similar type of career minor-leaguer. "I thought Alex was going to be able to replace Jimmy," said Moose general manager Heisinger. "That was the top end for me and he's exceeded all expectations." Roy told him to believe in himself, and that he could make it if he worked hard.

• He scored his first AHL goal with the Moose on November 4, 2004, in a 2–1 win over the Utah Grizzlies. He scored the game winner.

• Burrows made $45,000 US playing for the Moose in 2004-05. He did not have a car and lived within walking distance to the rink.

• In the Summer of 2005, Burrows was named MVP of the Canadian Men's A Ball Hockey Championships, leading the Montreal Red Lites, with 2 goals in a 5–2 finals win against the Toronto Midnight Express. He also won another Gold Medal with Canada at the World Ball Hockey Championships in Pittsburgh and was named the International Player of the Year – awarded to the best player in the world by the ISBHF, which is the world governing body of the sport.

• Burrows got off to a great start in Manitoba in 2005-06. On November 9, 2005, Burrows was rewarded with a two way contract with the Moose's NHL affiliate, the Vancouver Canucks.

• Burrows was called up on January 2nd, 2006 by the Canucks after Wade Brookbank suffered a concussion. He never played another regular season game in the AHL.

• Burrows led the Moose in scoring at the time of his recall, with 30 points in 33 games, despite dealing with a broken nose.

• Burrows arrived when the Canucks were in turmoil. Todd Bertuzzi and Markus Naslund and an unnamed player had apparently not gone to a team New Year's Eve function after the Canucks played the Minnesota Wild that evening, and went off on their own. The team was riddled with injuries, and Burrows met the team in St. Louis on the 2nd of January.

• Burrows got off to a flying start on the Canucks' 4th line with Ryan Kesler and Jarko Ruuttu. In his fifth game, he scored his first NHL goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ed Belfour was in goal.

• His first month in the NHL he scored on his hometown team, the Montreal Canadiens, as the Canucks scored a team record 6 goals in the first period on Hockey Night in Canada, who had done a feature on Burrows' improbable path to the NHL.

• Two months later, he scored his first NHL Hat Trick on March 27, 2006.

• He finished the year with the Canucks, scoring 12 points in 43 games, and the team missed the playoffs in 2006. He was returned to Manitoba for the AHL playoffs, and led the way offensively, scoring six goals and adding seven assists for 13 points.

• A month before the Moose's playoffs ended, Coach Marc Crawford was fired, and Alain Vigneault later took over. Todd Bertuzzi was traded for Roberto Luongo who would become a close friend of Burrows.

• That Summer, he led the Red Lite to their 6th Gold Medal in the National Ball Hockey Championship, and effectively retired from the sport to concentrate on his NHL career.

• On September 9th, 2006, Burrows signed a 3 year deal with the Canucks.

• During the 2006-07 season, Burrows scored just 3 goals in 81 games, but was part of a Canucks penalty kill which was the best in the NHL. He played on a third line with Ryan Kesler and Taylor Pyatt, and sometimes with Trevor Linden.

• In May of 2008, Luc Bourdon was killed instantly in a motorcycle collision in Lameque, New Brunswick near his hometown of Shippagan when he hit a tractor-trailer after losing control of his motorcycle. Burrows was Bourdon's best friend on the Canucks and Bourdon was planning on heading to Montreal that off-season to workout with Burrows. A few months later, before the opening game of the season, Burrows had dinner with Bourdon's mother and girlfriend, and honoured Bourdon with his signature Bow and Arrow celebration after scoring 2 goals in a 6-0 win over Calgary.

• As the Canucks struggled at mid-season in 2008-09, Vigneault tried to juggle his lines to see what worked. Burrows was paired with the Sedin twins on the Canucks top line…and has stayed their for almost an entire calendar year.

• His roommate during the 2008-09 NHL season was Taylor Pyatt. Another tragedy struck one of Burrows' close friends that April when Pyatt's fiancée Carly Bragnalo died in a car accident. His girlfriend, Nancy Roy represented him at her funeral. This was his third teammate to be struck by tragedy in his short career.

• In March of 2009, Pierre McGuire of TSN named Burrows to his all-star team of "Monsters" and stated that Burrows was "part of the conversation" to make the Canadian Olympic Team for 2010.

• Before the season ended, Burrows was awarded with a 4 year contract worth 8 million dollars.

• On April 3, 2009 he was selected by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association as the Canucks' nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded for perseverance, dedication and sportsmanship.

• In the 2009 off-season, Burrows was involved in an assault incident while playing in a summer ice hockey league. Police were called to an arena in Kirkland, Québec, on July 21 after Burrows allegedly struck a goaltender, 19-year-old Koray Celik, in the face. No arrests, however, were made at the scene.

• In 2010, he was inducted into the CBHA Hall of Fame, along with national teammate and goaltender Michel Perodeau. He is also a member of the ISBHF Hall of Fame.

• In July 2010, Burrows married his longtime girlfriend, Nancy Roy.

• Burrows recorded back-to-back hat tricks against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Phoenix Coyotes on January 5 and 7, 2010, respectively. It marked the first time a player ha consecutive 3 goal games since Ilya Kovalchuk in November 2007 and the first time a Canucks player did so since Petri Skriko in 1986. Burrows was named the NHL First Star of the Week on January 11, 2010.

• The night of his first star of the week selection, Burrows and the Canucks played a controversial game against the Nashville Predators. With the game tied 2–2 in the third period, Burrows was penalized twice by referee Stéphane Auger – once for diving and the other for interference. Burrows claimed that Auger told him before the January 11 game: "you made me look bad [for calling the Smithson penalty] so I'm going to get you back tonight." He went on to tell reporters that Auger "should stay out for the rest of the year making calls like that ... We just blew two points because of his officiating tonight." The following day, the NHL fined Burrows US$2,500 for publicly criticizing Auger and deemed that his claims "cannot be substantiated.

• Later that week, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)'s Hockey Night in Canada telecast aired an 11-minute segment hosted by Ron MacLean and NHL vice-president Colin Campbell reviewing Burrows' past transgressions, spanning two years. The segment was widely criticized for being biased against Burrows and failing to illustrate both sides of the argument. Burrows' parents subsequently issued a formal letter of complaint to the CBC, accusing MacLean of "verbal assassination" and for displaying "no journalistic balance."

• The following Saturday after the segment aired, the Canucks refused any interviews with the CBC before, during or after their game against the Chicago Blackhawks, which was broadcast on Hockey Night in Canada.The boycott was ordered by Canucks general manager Mike Gillis after MacLean refused to apologize. CBC and Canucks representatives later agreed in a conference call to "move on" and team players were allowed to resume interviews.

• On April 26th 2011, Burrows scored the overtime goal in game 7 to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1st round of the playoffs. The next day, his daughter, Victoria was born.

• In 2011, Burrows scored the second-fastest goal scored from the start of an overtime game in Stanley Cup Finals history.

• In 2011, an annual ball hockey tournament (3-on-3) was introduced in Quebec. The organizers named it after Burrows as "The Burrows Cup" or "Le Coupe Burrows". The tournament takes place in late August and offers $50,000 in prizes.

And his amazing story continues....Screw Hockey Night in Canada!

[ponograph]

thanks. great read.

And I think Ron McLame should read it as well.

and I thought they could get more than 45K a year for playing Moose.

[Schroeder's Wrister]

Awesome stats, pumping me up for the game tonight

[BionicBunny]

Great facts, great read, +1.

[Apples]

Interesting facts, thanks

[PuckMaestro]

Thanks for sharing.

I wonder about the New years thing ...

[sonoman]

I wear my #14 jersey for every game

I just can't think of a better feel good story in the history of the NHL (or any other sport for that matter), but I am sure some of you will think of a better one

If ever a story of hard work, perseverence, and belief in yourself deserves a "made for TV movie", it really should be the story of Alex Burrows

[Patrick Kane]

Greatly complied.

[-DLC-]

Fantastic thread....really appreciate the time & effort put into it and, as a huge Burrows fan, even moreso.

+

[Hugh Chardon]

You forgot to mention the following:

1) He has two uncles named "Larry"

2) He is an avid reader of Us Weekly.

3) As a boy of 9 he started a Petula Clark fan club with close friend Syd Mellon.

4) He once built a life size replica of the bridge of the starship Enterprise using only discarded milk cartons and twine.

5) His first car was a Dodge Shadow.

6) He is allergic to celery.

7) His middle name is Lamont.

8) His favourite actress is Bythe Danner.

9) He has a mole on his left shoulder shaped like a pear.

[kchengc]

excellent post... it was one of the best threads i have read here

[NucksFanFromCali]

Great read. thx OP... i'm going to bookmark it!

[otherwise]

• Burrows made $45,000 US playing for the Moose in 2004-05. He did not have a car and lived within walking distance to the rink.

[Riddle]

nice thread

[makiajason]

Burrows is the man, I hope in a few years he gets an A.

what a life, 4 years ago, he didn't own a car, made just enough to eat, and now he's rich, probly got a million women in Vancouver following him around, and is probly offered cars from any dealership in town.

Such an inspiration to everyone in Vancouver, I think if Gillis where to just add 1 million to his contract for the other 3 years, no one in Vancouver would mind at all, haha!

[Harvey Specter]

Great read. Awesome facts about him being the MVP and winning Goal Scoring Titles in ball hockey.

[twinsrockmysocks]

DESPITE BEING CUT, BEING DOUBTED, FACING TRAGEDY, AND WANTING TO QUIT, ALEX BURROWS HAS BECOME A BONAFIDE STAR

HERE IS A SUMMARY OF THE STORY OF HOW THIS GUY MADE IT TO BEING A WINGER ON ONE OF THE BEST LINES IN THE NHL.

• His father Rodney immigrated to Canada from London, England about 40 years ago at age 21. He does not speak much French. He designs fire-protection systems.

• His mother, Carole Burrows is an elementary school principal who is French-Canadian.

• He has one sister who is a year older, and one who is 3 years younger.

• He was born April 11^th 1981, and shares a Birthday with Trevor Linden.

• Raised in the town of live in Pincourt on ile Perrot, Burrows played his minor hockey on the West Island for the Westlake Panthers, starting at age 5. He also played pond hockey when the lake would freeze.

• Like his dad, Burrows played soccer. In August of 1992, his Dollard pee-wee I (under-11) soccer team won the Brossard International Challenge Tournament with a 4-2 win over Granby. In July 1993, the next season, his Peewee I soccer team would go on to win the Mini-Mondiale (World Cup) Tournament in Montreal, as well the Chimicella Soccer Tournament.

• In April of 1993, at the age of 12, Burrows' hockey team, the Lac St. Louis West Tigers captured the provincial atom double-A hockey championship. His teammates included Phoenix Coyote Matthew Lombardi and former Canuck Brandon Reid. Burrows always played on the fourth line while Reid and Lombardi were stars.

• He once attended a hockey camp run by then Montreal Canadiens coach Pat Burns.

• At the age of 13, Burrows was chosen to play in the Farmington Valley International Soccer Tournament in Connecticut. His team won the tournament, beating the state champs from Connecticut and New Jersey.

• Burrows also swam and played Tennis growing up.

• At 16, Burrows decided to give up soccer to focus on playing Junior hockey.

• Burrows tried out for Junior hockey at 16, and got cut, and couldn't even make his AAA-midget team until he was 17. His small size, being 5'6'' until a growth spurt at age 18 was a factor.

• He finally cracked the lineup of his Junior team, the QMJHL's Shawinigan Cataractes as an older player when he was 19. He would play two seasons for them, and although he scored 35 goals in his final season, he went undrafted.

• While Burrows was finishing his Junior career with Shawinigan in 2002, he made friends with a 6'5 240 lb teammate and enforcer named Trevor Ettinger who was a Columbus Blue Jackets prospect. In July 2003, while skating at his hometown rink, Burrows learned his friend was found dead at home, from a self-inflicted gun shot wound.

• In Burrows' final year of Junior, a lawyer and agent named Paul Corbeil was in the stands and was impressed by his work ethic. He signed him and has represented him ever since. Corbeil also represents Ryan Clowe and Marc-Andre Bergeron.

• In the Summer of 2002, Burrows led the Canadian Men's Ball Hockey Nationals in scoring, playing for the Montreal Red Lite.

• His impressive final year in Junior got him some kudos. Burrows was invited to the Islanders' 2002 training camp but was cut from the team.

• He decided to launch his pro hockey career in the ECHL. He went to Greenville, South Carolina to play for the Greenville Grrrowl.

• On November 10^th 2002, the ECHL suspended Greenville Burrows for one game and teammate David Kaczowka for two games, fined them both undisclosed amounts, and fined their team $500, for their part in an altercation in a game against Louisiana. Burrows' incident included an altercation with a referee.

• Towards the end of the season, the Grrrowl traded him to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he joined the Baton Rouge Kingfish who were folding from the league. They eventually became the Victoria Salmon Kings.

• In the ECHL, Burrows got meal money for 3 meals...34 dollars a day ("No wonder some players would go eat at Burger King or the Waffle House," Burrows said. "Plus, they wanted to save their money for booze later.")

• Most of the ECHL bus trips lasted no more than three hours each way. The players would only get used magazines donated by fans to pass the time. Burrows only had 32 points in 66 games in his first ECHL season and contemplated going back to school or finding another career. He was interested for a long time in being a sportscaster.

• He tried to watch his diet and take care of himself with the measly stipend for food: "I'd try to pack myself little lunches, get some Subway and try to do as much as I could to perform."

• Burrows' ECHL salary was $500 per week.

• In the Summer of 2003, Burrows led the Canadian Men's Ball Hockey Nationals in scoring for the 2^nd year in a row. He also won a gold medal for Team Canada at the World Championships in June in Seirre, Switzerland. He served as a Captain and was named Most Valuable Forward in the tournament.

• He was noticed by Manitoba Moose GM Craig Heisinger. He was invited to Canucks prospects camp in Spetember 2003 at age 22, hoping to land a spot on the Moose. He was the star of the prospects game against UBC at Thunderbird Arena scoring 2 goals, and then also at Queen's Park Arena in New Westminster, scoring another pair of goals.

• Burrows was signed by the Columbia Inferno of the ECHL who were then affiliated with the Canucks. Burrows had a great season, and was second in team scoring to his linemate Canuck draft pick Tim Smith, who actually led the league in scoring.

• Just a month into the season, October 2003, Burrows impressive camp and start to the season convinced Heisinger to sign him to a 2 way, ECHL-AHL deal, and call him up for 2 AHL games that year.

• That season, played in the 2004 ECHL All-Star Game for the Eastern Conference and recorded one assist.

• Following the competition, the Peoria Journal-Star, a local newspaper of the All-Star Game host city, conducted a survey of the NHL scouts in attendance and listed Burrows as one of the top four prospects at the game.

• The Manitoba Moose rewarded him for his great season with a two way (ECHL, AHL) contract.

• Burrows spent the summers in Montreal working for his friend, who had a landscaping business. Burrows would cut grass and help out on landscaping jobs.

• He was expected to crack the Moose lineup to start the 2004-05 season (the NHL "lockout season), but was the last cut, and was sent to the Columbia Inferno after a disappointing training camp. He once again contemplated quitting hockey.

• Rather than hang his head, Burrows produced five goals and six points in four games before he was promoted to the AHL when the league expanded roster size by one player due to all the locked out NHLers coming in. He stayed with the Moose for the remainder of the season. His coach: a guy named Alain Vigneault.

• Burrows never went back to the ECHL. In 133 career games in the ECHL, Burrows scored 47 goals and 111 points, along with 463 penalty minutes.

• While with the Moose, Burrows became friends with minor-league journeyman Jimmy Roy, who played 9 years with the Moose. Heisinger said he expected Burrows to be a similar type of career minor-leaguer. "I thought Alex was going to be able to replace Jimmy," said Moose general manager Heisinger. "That was the top end for me and he's exceeded all expectations." Roy told him to believe in himself, and that he could make it if he worked hard.

• He scored his first AHL goal with the Moose on November 4, 2004, in a 2–1 win over the Utah Grizzlies. He scored the game winner.

• Burrows made $45,000 US playing for the Moose in 2004-05. He did not have a car and lived within walking distance to the rink.

• In the Summer of 2005, Burrows was named MVP of the Canadian Men's A Ball Hockey Championships, leading the Montreal Red Lites, with 2 goals in a 5–2 finals win against the Toronto Midnight Express. He also won another Gold Medal with Canada at the World Ball Hockey Championships in Pittsburgh and was named the International Player of the Year – awarded to the best player in the world by the ISBHF, which is the world governing body of the sport.

• Burrows got off to a great start in Manitoba in 2005-06. On November 9, 2005, Burrows was rewarded with a two way contract with the Moose's NHL affiliate, the Vancouver Canucks.

• Burrows was called up on January 2^nd, 2006 by the Canucks after Wade Brookbank suffered a concussion. He never played another regular season game in the AHL.

• Burrows led the Moose in scoring at the time of his recall, with 30 points in 33 games, despite dealing with a broken nose.

• Burrows arrived when the Canucks were in turmoil. Todd Bertuzzi and Markus Naslund and an unnamed player had apparently not gone to a team New Year's Eve function after the Canucks played the Minnesota Wild that evening, and went off on their own. The team was riddled with injuries, and Burrows met the team in St. Louis on the 2^nd of January.

• Burrows got off to a flying start on the Canucks' 4^th line with Ryan Kesler and Jarko Ruuttu. In his fifth game, he scored his first NHL goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ed Belfour was in goal.

• His first month in the NHL he scored on his hometown team, the Montreal Canadiens, as the Canucks scored a team record 6 goals in the first period on Hockey Night in Canada, who had done a feature on Burrows' improbable path to the NHL.

• Two months later, he scored his first NHL Hat Trick on March 27, 2006.

• He finished the year with the Canucks, scoring 12 points in 43 games, and the team missed the playoffs in 2006. He was returned to Manitoba for the AHL playoffs, and led the way offensively, scoring six goals and adding seven assists for 13 points.

• A month before the Moose's playoffs ended, Coach Marc Crawford was fired, and Alain Vigneault later took over. Todd Bertuzzi was traded for Roberto Luongo who would become a close friend of Burrows.

• That Summer, he led the Red Lite to their 6^th Gold Medal in the National Ball Hockey Championship, and effectively retired from the sport to concentrate on his NHL career.

• On September 9^th, 2006, Burrows signed a 3 year deal with the Canucks.

• During the 2006-07 season, Burrows scored just 3 goals in 81 games, but was part of a Canucks penalty kill which was the best in the NHL. He played on a third line with Ryan Kesler and Taylor Pyatt, and sometimes with Trevor Linden.

• In May of 2008, Luc Bourdon was killed instantly in a motorcycle collision in Lameque, New Brunswick near his hometown of Shippagan when he hit a tractor-trailer after losing control of his motorcycle. Burrows was Bourdon's best friend on the Canucks and Bourdon was planning on heading to Montreal that off-season to workout with Burrows. A few months later, before the opening game of the season, Burrows had dinner with Bourdon's mother and girlfriend, and honoured Bourdon with his signature Bow and Arrow celebration after scoring 2 goals in a 6-0 win over Calgary.

• As the Canucks struggled at mid-season in 2008-09, Vigneault tried to juggle his lines to see what worked. Burrows was paired with the Sedin twins on the Canucks top line…and has stayed their for almost an entire calendar year.

• His roommate during the 2008-09 NHL season was Taylor Pyatt. Another tragedy struck one of Burrows' close friends that April when Pyatt's fiancée Carly Bragnalo died in a car accident. His girlfriend, Nancy Roy represented him at her funeral. This was his third teammate to be struck by tragedy in his short career.

• In March of 2009, Pierre McGuire of TSN named Burrows to his all-star team of "Monsters" and stated that Burrows was "part of the conversation" to make the Canadian Olympic Team for 2010.

• Before the season ended, Burrows was awarded with a 4 year contract worth 8 million dollars.

• On April 3, 2009 he was selected by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association as the Canucks' nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded for perseverance, dedication and sportsmanship.

And his amazing story continues....Screw Hockey Night in Canada!

[BurnabyJoe]

Haha good ol' Brandon Reid. Everyone always wanted the guy called up.

Burrows first career hat-trick: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/news/sports/story.html?id=6f388340-1128-4a4a-abfe-4ad13fd0a867

[c-a-n-u-c-k-s]

A great example of hard work and making the most of every opportunity given. Burrows IS EPIC.

[jrobber]

Great post, thanks! Lets hope "things come in three's" and that's the end of the tragic deaths for Burrow's friends.