It was a 45-minute breath of fresh air, with the words flowing out of Alexandre Burrows clearly and deliberately.
The 39-year-old’s Zoom press conference provided a perfect explanation for why he was taken off the Laval Rocket bench, after just one year in the AHL, and promoted to replace Montreal Canadiens associate coach Kirk Muller on Feb. 24.
It was one thing for general manager Marc Bergevin to repeat on that day that both Dominique Ducharme (taking over as head coach for Claude Julien) and Burrows would offer new voices to a Canadiens team in need of them, but it was another to hear Ducharme’s voice for ourselves over the last couple of weeks and to finally, on Tuesday, get a sample of what the players are experiencing beyond what we see on the ice with Burrows.
It is there where he bounces from drill to drill with the energy of a 10-year-old who just chugged six Pixie Sticks, but it was in some backroom of Rogers Arena, with the Canadiens’ makeshift backdrop behind him, that Burrows gave us a glimpse of the serious and measured guy who’s also spending his time crafting power-play schemes and conducting video tutorials off-ice.
He spoke for a long time, but made it clear within seconds why he was the precise person chosen to join Ducharme’s bench. He told us what this opportunity means to him as a lifelong Canadiens fan who caught a lot of flak from his Vancouver Canucks teammates for never losing his allegiance to the team of his childhood, the team he would ritually watch play the early games while the Canucks were preparing to play the late ones.
But Burrows also talked about how the last season in Laval prepared him for this and how 998 NHL games (regular season and post-season combined) gave him all the insight he needed to make this transition. He then shared how long-time Canucks assistant coach Newell Brown inspired the mentality he’s brought to reviving a Canadiens power play that struggled immensely under Muller but is suddenly clicking under his guidance.
“He was always open,” Burrows said. “You could talk to him, share ideas, plans. We could comment on some stuff, so it was really working as a group.
“He always had a plan, made sure it was clear, and there weren’t any grey areas. And there’s plans on the breakouts, on the in-zone, on 5-on-3s, 4-on-3s, faceoffs, so it made it easier for players to play instead of always think, so it kind of became second nature going on the power play.”
That’s what it’s looked like for one unit of Montreal’s power play since Burrows took over.
Now Burrows has to get the other unit going. The one with Jonathan Drouin and Shea Weber rotating from the top of the point to the flank, with Nick Suzuki and Tyler Toffoli switching off with each other in the bumper position, and with Josh Anderson in front of the net.
It’s a unit filled with cerebral players in Drouin, Suzuki and Toffoli — crafty playmakers not unlike Henrik and Daniel Sedin, with whom Burrows enjoyed the greatest success of his career.
When asked how he could lend some of what the Sedins did so successfully to this trio of bright Canadiens, Burrows pointed to simplicity.
“I think we don’t have to force plays,” he said. “Even with the twins, they were efficient by being the experts at simple plays… It wasn’t always the crazy, between-the-legs saucer pass and back door and tic-tac-toes. The way they had success was by keeping it simple over and over and becoming experts at that. It comes down with execution.
“It comes down with knowing where teammates are going to be on the ice, because the game is so fast now [that] if you take that extra second to hope that, or you’re wishing or holding onto the puck for an extra second to find a lane or find a guy and hoping that the guy’s going to be there, it’s going to be too late and you’ll be breaking out once again. So, we try to keep it clear, simple, efficient and direct.”
But the challenge with that is avoiding being predictable.
The Canadiens have been particularly predictable on this unit — certainly in the way they break into the zone and attempt to set things up from there, but mostly with Weber’s shot being habitually overused. It’s part of the reason Weber’s got just two power-play goals this season despite producing 102 over his previous 15 seasons in the NHL.
When Burrows was asked if it was time for the Canadiens to remove Weber from the power play and opt for someone more mobile in his place — Alexander Romanov wasn’t specifically brought up, but he’d be a logical choice for such an assignment — he explained why he wasn’t going to do that.
“Shea’s got one of the best shots in the league or the best one-timer I’ve seen,” Burrows said. “He’s a weapon, for sure, on your unit. Team’s PKs are going to shadow him as much as they can so they don’t let that shot come out. For me, I have different [formations] and Shea, when he’s on the flank, I’d love to see him tee it off every time he has a chance. If we’re able to tee it up for him, that would be a great play. If he’s at the top and we have Jo on the flank, it’s different looks.
“But sometimes he might be a decoy and we’ll run another play knowing that they’re going to shadow him. A lot goes into it. I’m not worried about Shea. I know how he prepares, I know how he cares about this team. He’s the ultimate captain, I’ve seen only good things about him so far — the way he acts and conducts himself, the way he cares about his teammates, the way he cares about [how] the team does, so I’m not worried about him at all.
“But as we move forward, we’ll need him to shoot that puck and we’ll need to find for him or create lanes for him to let that shot go because it’s one of the best weapons in the league.”
When asked what this unit, presumed to be the top unit by this reporter, can borrow from the one that’s actually clicking, Burrows revealed much more about what he’s trying to establish with both units.
“I think for both units we’ve kept it pretty simple since Day 1,” Burrows said. “We have a different plan, and we have this wolf-pack mentality that we can strike from anywhere. We can strike from the low plays, we can strike from shots from the top, we can shoot from the flanks, we converge towards rebounds, and that’s the way I see it.
“I know both units can do the job and we’ll keep getting better. It’s a work in progress, it’s going to take some time. You look around the league, the best units have been together for four, five, six years of the same guys in the same spots doing the right things over and over. That’s how I got taught to play the game. I think if we can be direct, keep it simple and efficient, that’s how we’re going to have some success when the game’s on the line and we need a big power-play goal late in the game or it’s playoff hockey and the game’s on the line and we need to score a goal.
“If we keep the same mentality, I think the odds are on our side that we’ll be able to shine when the light’s the brightest.”
Burrows said it with passion and conviction and communicated it directly, which is at the heart of why he was given this job.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.
The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.
Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.
There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.
Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.
But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.
The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”
The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.
Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.
Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.
Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.
Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.
“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”
“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.
Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.
Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.
The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.
Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.
Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.
Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.
Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.
Canada Roster
Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).
Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).
Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).
Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
