Canucks monthly December edition: Burrows night, win streak, more
Burrows Ring of Honor night
On the night of the Dec. 3 home game against the Ottawa Senators, the Dragon Slayer was unveiled as the seventh member of the Canucks Ring of Honor. The Pincourt, Quebec native laced up the skates for 12 consecutive years in a blue and green jersey.
Luckily for him, his hard work eventually paid off, and Burrows landed himself on the top line with the Sedin twins. Playing with Henrik and Daniel is where Burrows ultimately became the NHL player and franchise great.
Burrows was a heart and soul character for Vancouver. He gave it everything he had, every single game. His teammates loved to have on their side while opponents he faced off against, simply dreaded clashing with the pesky Frenchman. He was an in your face type of player that was a hound on the puck and could bang in 25-plus goals a season.
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Slaying the dragon was by far his biggest accomplishment. It has to be the single biggest moment in team history.
Every true Canucks fan can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing when Burrows slayed the dragon, the arch rival Chicago Blackhawks.
The crowd erupted at the sight of Burrows, and his speech was obviously very well received. He looked back on a huge career and made sure to thank everyone that helped him along the way.
Daniel and Henrik were mentioned as the two best linemates he could have asked for. Ryan Kesler and Kevin Bieksa were two close friends he thanked, along with the legendary, Roberto Luongo. His full speech can be watched here.
It was a heartfelt speech that capped off a very successful career. Burrows was someone who went undrafted and had to work his way to the top. A true success story that proves anything can be accomplished when you put your mind to it — and I’m sure that it hit home with some of the younger current Canucks.
For example, Antoine Roussel fired straight out of a cannon and scored the first goal of the game (his first contest of the season) before Burrows could even make it back to his club seats.
All in all, Burrows’ night was something truly special to witness. The story of an undrafted player never giving up and fighting his way into the NHL should bring goosebumps to every hockey fan. Hopefully, his success, hard work and dedication will rub off on other Canucks who use it as fuel to ignite an exciting career.