Stu Cowan: New Canadiens assistant coach Alex Burrows a 'hockey nerd' – Montreal Gazette

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Alex Burrows believes that every day in the NHL “is always a great day.”

That’s not surprising when you look at the road the new Canadiens assistant coach had to take to make it as a player in the NHL.

The 39-year-old Pincourt native played two seasons with the QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes, but was never selected at the NHL Draft. After junior, he spent three years in the ECHL, playing for the Greenville Grrrowl, the Baton Rouge Kingfish and the Columbia Inferno, earning $350 a week.

“I remember my third year pro when I got sent down for the third year in a row to the East Coast league,” Burrows recalled Tuesday afternoon during a video conference from Vancouver. “That’s when all my buddies were finishing university and I told myself that if I was still in the Coast by Christmas I would have probably packed it in and go to university and try to get a degree.”

Burrows got the break he was hoping for after playing only four games with the Inferno in the 2004-05 season when he got a call from Craig Heisinger, who was general manager of the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, the Vancouver Canucks’ farm team at the time.

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“I never looked back ever since,” Burrows said.

Burrows made his NHL debut during the 2005-06 season and would play 12 seasons with the Canucks, followed by two more with the Ottawa Senators before hanging up his skates and taking an assistant coaching job with the AHL’s Laval Rocket in 2018, joining his friend Joël Bouchard behind the bench.

Burrows said he was shocked and excited when he got a call from Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin on the night of Feb. 23, shortly after the team’s 5-4 shootout loss to the Senators in Ottawa. Bergevin informed Burrows he was firing head coach Claude Julien and associate coach Kirk Muller. Dominique Ducharme would replace Julien and Burrows would replace Muller.

The Canadiens arranged for a car to pick Burrows up at his Montreal home at 6 a.m. the next day to bring him to Ottawa so he could join the team for a flight to Winnipeg for a game the next night against the Jets. Burrows said his wife had to inform their three kids when they woke up that morning why their father wasn’t home and what his new job was. Burrows said his family was thrilled, noting his 5-year-old son watches the RDS sports news every morning and knows all the Canadiens players.

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“I was really excited, really thrilled to get a chance to get back in the NHL with my childhood team and to chase that Lord Stanley again,” Burrows said. “Even if it’s as a coach, for me it would be a dream come true. I’m really excited about this challenge. It’s going to take time, but at the same time, it’s going to be a lot of fun and I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season and see how our team plays. The best thing for me, our guys care so much and they want to do well and we have a good group of guys. So I’m excited about that.”

The Canadiens players have talked about the excitement and energy Burrows has brought to the team. He has also helped improve the power play, which is 5-for-11 in the first six games since Burrows took charge of it, with the Canadiens posting a 2-1-3 record with their new coaches.

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Burrows started his NHL career as a fourth-line agitator “doing whatever it took to stay in the league.” He eventually moved up to a checking role on the third line and ended up playing on the Canucks’ top line with twins Henrik and Daniel Sedin. In 2019, Burrows was inducted into the Canucks’ Ring of Honour.

Burrows answered questions for more than 45 minutes Tuesday in English and French and was very comfortable and confident. He said he’s just going to be himself in his new role with the Canadiens. You could see and hear why he has been able to bring some energy to the team.

“Now that I’m here I won’t start changing the way I am,” he said. “I’m going to be myself. That’s what brought me here, that’s what gave me the career I had, so why change now?”

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Burrows describes himself as a “hockey nerd” who eats hockey and watches games every night.

When asked if he wonders what he might have done if he didn’t make it in the NHL, Burrows said: “I think the biggest thing would probably have been a phys-ed teacher. That’s probably what I would have liked to do. Because I’m a big sports fan. I watch every sport that’s out there I know about. I like to watch and I like to study how guys prepare. So I would say phys-ed teacher would have probably been my call of duty.”

Now, the NHL has come calling again. Another great day for Burrows.

scowan@postmedia.com

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