The thirteenth and final forward for Canada’s entry in the 2012 World Championships is reportedly Alex Burrows of the Vancouver Canucks.
Burrows has represented his country on the international stage before, but in ball hockey. He competed in the 2003 and 2005 ball hockey World Championships, leading Team Canada to gold each time. Being named to Team Canada in ice hockey is yet another chapter in Burrows’ incredible success story.
This time around, he likely won’t be playing as integral an offensive role, however, as the team already boasts talent like Corey Perry, John Tavares, Jeff Skinner, Patrick Sharp, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Jordan Eberle. Burrows’ skill on the penalty kill and defensive acumen likely played into the decision to add him to the roster (or maybe just the fact that he said yes).
There may be a bit of awkwardness in the locker room, though: Duncan Keith is one of the defencemen heading to Finland and Sweden for the two week tournament.
While Keith’s elbow on Daniel Sedin is fresh in people’s minds and there is the matter of Burrows’ supposed knee to Keith’s groin, the most notorious interaction between Burrows and Keith dates back to 2009, when a Dustin Byfuglien punch to Luongo’s head lead to a line brawl in a game between the Canucks and Blackhawks.
While Eager and Bieksa squared off in one corner, Burrows and Keith tangled on the other side of the ice. That’s when Burrows noticed that Keith had a rather full head of hair that looked easily grippable, and he decided to test this hypothesis by grabbing himself a handful. Sure enough, it was plenty grippable, but since you always want to show repeatability in your scientific experiments, Burrows grabbed another handful and another, just to be sure.
Yes, this was the notorious hair-pulling incident. There’s no use denying that it occurred. Some claimed that Keith had his fingers in Burrows’ mouth (which is not advisable) and was giving him the old fish hook, but this was never really proven or shown at all. What is indisputable, is that this one time, in a heated game, Burrows pulled Keith’s hair.
Which means the first thing I want Burrows to do when he walks into that Team Canada locker room is to sneak up behind Keith and just give his hair a little tug, preferably with someone filming it to catch Keith’s reaction.
Then they should probably go out and try to win the championship, I guess.
You might also like:
24 comments
Search
Recent Comments
- tj
on 20 potential replacements if Alain Vigneault gets fired - tj on 20 potential replacements if Alain Vigneault gets fired
- Lenny
on 20 potential replacements if Alain Vigneault gets fired - Coach Bombay
on Amazing Fan Comment: Chris the Curmudgeon closes the curtain - Lenny on 20 potential replacements if Alain Vigneault gets fired
About canada.com | Privacy Statement | Terms | Copyright & Permissions
© 2008 - 2011 Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved.
Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited.
swizzler
April 28, 2012It’s ridiculous to think that Mason Raymond once played for Team Canada. Long before Alex Burrows.
Zach Morris
April 28, 2012Mason Raymond played for Team Canada?
Jeez, sign me up next!
peanutflower
April 28, 2012Really? Burrows must be one of the most “unsung” of unsung heroes in the NHL. Now at least I have some Canuck hockey to watch lol.
the real bob
April 28, 2012i guess they wanted a guy to miss the net then fall down.
Anna Fournier
April 28, 2012Too bad Patrice Bergeron isn’t playing. That would make things really awkward!
Anyway, good for Burr, he deserves it. Now I’ll have an excuse to watch the games.
vancitydan from NM
April 28, 2012Don’t know about the “provable” part there Daniel. His hand seems to be in the mouth area there in that video.
Meh, old news anyhow! Congrats Burr’, get yourself a gold medal…
SteveB
April 28, 2012Awkward
Zach Morris
April 28, 2012Keith plays for Chicago, so it’s
hawkward
biznow
April 28, 2012i hope they square off after the opening puck drop, and just get it over with….. to hell with the people who don’t like staged fights.
A Blueliner
April 28, 2012BUT THEY’RE ON THE SAME TEAM! Hahaha!
tom selleck's moustache
April 29, 2012Which makes it so much better, and funnier.
Brent
April 28, 2012I always wonder about situations like this where there is a history of intense rivalry (OK downright hate) and then they have to be teammates. PLus the recent head hunting by Keith on Daniel adds an extra dimension to this. How do they get past this and both contribute to the team? How does Burrows resist the temptation to not slam Keith into the boards when he goes to move the puck out of his own end? Think they will be going for beers after the games? Somehow I doubt it.
Kudos to Burrows for being selected! Hope he gets to perform to his potential!
dougster
April 28, 2012Burrows is one of the smartest hockey players I have ever seen on the ice. His ball hockey skills have paid off big time–the OT goal he scored in the St. Louis series a few years back remains a classic! He always seems to me to be a guy you can count on to raise his game when the going gets tough. It’s great he is playing for Team Canada–I will have a reason to watch now. As for Duncan Keith, I would not be at all surprised that they are best friends on Team Canada, until the next Canucks v Blackhawks game…
The Bookie
April 28, 2012Look, they’ll just have to put the pass behin dem, grit dere teef, and win da turd.
GoCanucks
April 28, 2012haha burrow’s OT goal against Chicago last year is going to make it even worse
Josh D.
April 28, 2012It’s not so crazy to think that the two can put things behind them for the sake of Team Canada, Jumbo Joe and Iginla have fought each other when tensions have boiled over, as have Nash and Getzlaf, but they pulled it together when it came to the world stage. All the hatred between the Canucks and Hawks will be put on the backburner in the name of national pride, I think.
Because in the end, we are all Canucks.
the real bob
April 28, 2012jannik hansen is also playing for denmark, so double your canucks fix during the world championships.
peanutflower
April 28, 2012Isn’t he a national hero in Denmark? How many Danish NHL players are there anyway?
the real bob
April 29, 2012From what I know, Jensen, Hansen and Boedker.
Daniel W.
April 29, 2012add Eller(montreal), Philip Larsen (Dallas) and Peter Regin (Senators) and you have them all!
the real bob
April 29, 2012hmm I always thought regin was canadian for some odd reason… thanks for completing the list.
that being said, i think we have the best dane…not even close.
AJ
April 28, 2012Congratulations Alex! I look forward to seeing you play. You deserve it. The current Stanley Cup playoffs are so boring. I do miss the Canucks. Focus on winning for Canada.
bearspaw
April 30, 2012I think it’s an awesome addition to his story. Congratulations Burrows! Go Team Canada, win the gold and then let the brawling begin!
Nick
April 30, 2012Burrows and Keith on the same team won’t be an issue. I’ve played on teams where guys hated each other but, once the puck dropped, it made no difference. Cory Perry plays on all these international teams too as an impact guy, and I’ll bet he’s hated around the league a lot more than Alex.