Reply To: Help with Parents

[hockeygod]

Players who are multi-faceted are invaluable to their teams!

I believe it was Brent Burns, who played for Canada at the World Junior level as a 'swing man' (F or D). As I recall, he made the team specifically for that ability to play both positions better than average – he didn't do anything exceptionally well. He beat out lots of other 'better' players; but those players could only do one thing (play one position) "better" than Brent.

Now he is playing D (primarily) but has done both quite effectively in the NHL.

It is embarassing to see WHL forwards (or any older level, like bantam and above, for that matter) who fill in for a rushing D, try to skate backwards… wiggling their bums like there is no tomorrow; lacking agility and the ability to get a good gap against the oncoming opponent… TOO FUNNY!

(They should be able to skate backwards better, but we coaches specialize kids into positions far too early. Not to mention we focus on creating 'hockey players' – NOT 'athletes' – but that's a rant for another thread!)

I played mainly forward but did play some D back in the day. It gave me a better perspective on the game – seeing the game throguh the D's eyes – and also allowed me to appreciate their role more (and that of the forwards!) I wish I would have trained as a D more often, so I would have made myself more valuable to my team.

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Burns joins Canada's World Junior camp

TSN.ca Staff, 12/10/2003

Marc-Andre Fleury won't be the only player turning heads at Canada's tryout camp for the World Junior Hockey Championship.

The Minnesota Wild have assigned forward Brent Burns to try out for the national junior team, TSN has learned. Burns will be in Kitchener on Thursday when camp begins.

Burns, selected 20th overall in the June draft, became the third first-round pick in the last four years to sign with the Wild as an 18-year-old.

The Brampton Battalion alumnus has a goal and four assists in 15 games with the Wild this season and still has two years of junior eligibility remaining.

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Playing career

Burns was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the first round, 20th overall, in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Burns spent most of his minor hockey career playing for the Barrie Icemen and Ajax Knights of the OMHA. He spent two years playing in the Metropolitan Toronto Hockey league (MTHL) now called the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) for the North York Canadiens, along with fellow NHL draftees Anthony Stewart and Geoff Platt. Burns then played his OHL career as a right wing with the Brampton Battalion in the 2002–03 season. He led the team in playoff scoring that season with five goals and six assists in 11 games. Burns was runner-up for Most Improved Player in the OHL as voted on by the leagues coaches.[1]

Upon turning professional with the Wild in 2003, Burns was converted to defense by defensively minded coach Jacques Lemaire. Burns played in 36 games with Minnesota in the 2003–04 season, showing flashes of natural ability in rushing from the blueline.[2] After spending the 2004 NHL Lockout in the AHL with the Houston Aeros, Burns adapted as defenseman and earned a regular spot on the Wild team in the 2005–06 season, contributing 16 points in 72 games.

In the 2006–07 season, Burns eclipsed his previous seasons points total with 25 and became a significant force for the Wild in the later months of the season scoring back-to-back overtime winners in March and two fights during the playoffs.[3]

On October 25, 2007, during the 2007–08 season, Burns signed a four-year contract extension with the Wild.[4] Burns emerged as the Wild's best defenseman, establishing a career-high 15 goals and 43 points.

In the 2008–09 season, Burns was shifted between forward and defense with mild success, before he was hampered by a concussion which caused him to miss the final 19 games of the season

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THN.com Blog: Don't forget about Wild's Burns

Rory Boylen, The Hockey News, 2009-04-07

Oh, the difference a year makes.

Prior to this season, one of the most explosive yet underrated players in the game was Washington defenseman Mike Green. Coming off an impressive 18-goal, 56-point campaign in 2007-08, Green entered May’s World Championship in Halifax/Quebec City still a relative unknown after his Caps failed to advance past the first round of the playoffs.

Not that Green came out of nowhere. He posted seven points in seven post-season games and subsequently led all defensemen in scoring at the World Championship with 12 points in nine games. Some questioned Green’s defensive limitations, so even after that tournament was done he wasn’t the talk of the town or looked to as the future of Canada’s defense corps. That discussion started with Minnesota’s Brent Burns, who was named best defenseman in the tournament by the directorate.

Burns was drafted 20th overall by the Wild in the 2003 draft as a projected power forward. He notched 40 points in 68 games on the wing for the Brampton Battalion of the Ontario League and even entered Minnesota’s camp with the idea he was to play a strong game down low.

That is until the defensively minded Jacques Lemaire grabbed control.

Lemaire took the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Burns and transformed him into an imposing defender who had the natural ability to rush with the play. Burns surprised a lot of people by making the Wild as an 18-year-old and playing 36 games with the team.

Even though he spent the following season with the American League’s Houston Aeros, the fact Burns was able to adapt to a new position at the pro level so quickly made the Wild comfortable their first-rounder would learn to become an impact player.

Burns returned full-time to the NHL the following year and hasn’t looked back, as his game improved each of the following three seasons. Last year, Burns came into his own, notching 15 goals and 43 points in 82 games and became the talk of the World Championship as his flashy style and big-body play attracted fans of both finesse and toughness.

But oh, what a fickle ride the bandwagon can be.

Green and the offensively-minded wizards from Washington jumped hard out of the gate this season and the free-flowing, fan-friendly style of the Caps – coupled with the willingness of coach Bruce Boudreau to let his Green Monster run wild – quickly left the shutdown style of the Wild and everything associated with it in the dust. With 16 points in the first 19 games, Green was already starting to turn heads away from Burns.

It was a long season for Burns, an Ajax, Ont., native, who first sustained a shoulder injury early in the season that forced him to miss a couple games and is currently sidelined with a concussion that has ended his season. But when he did play, Burns showed signs of brilliance shrouded behind the defense-first style the Wild suffocates the league with.

When he was healthy, Burns munched minutes. He averaged 22:25 of ice time per game and notched 16 points in the final 29 games of his season. The beauty about Burns is Lemaire also uses him on the wing from time to time, where he doesn’t miss a step.

Of course, it’s never a good thing when a concussion ends the season of a promising young star. The Wild was content to have him rest for the end of the campaign and prepare himself for a return to prominence next season; something the team is confident he can accomplish.

While absolutely nothing should be taken away from the simply amazing season put together by Green, Burns should not be forgotten. Green certainly benefits from the rushing game plan of the Capitals, whereas Burns is largely stuck behind Lemaire’s iron curtain, unable to break through and stand out with flair.

But make no mistake: Burns also has a finely tuned attacking acumen to go along with the sturdy size to intimidate and shut down in his own corner. When the puck drops on the 2009-10 season in October, Green will undeniably be mentioned among the top players in the game and ‘one to watch.’ But it was only 11 months ago Burns was the one expected to burst through and take a run at a spot on Canada’s 2010 Olympic team.

Don’t be surprised if a healthy Burns has returned to the prominence of being a burgeoning Canadian blueliner by the time next year’s playoffs roll around.

It’s funny how much can change in a year.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
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