Alex Burrows to join Duncan Keith on Team Canada for the 2012 World Championship
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.
Burrows, Hackett added to Team Canada for Worlds
URICH, Switzerland -- Canada added Vancouver Canucks forward Alex Burrows and Minnesota Wild goalie Matt Hackett to its roster for the IIHF World Hockey Championship on Saturday.
That brings Canada's roster for the event to 23 players -- three goalies, seven defencemen and 13 forwards.
Burrows scored 28 goals and added 34 assists for the Vancouver Canucks in 2011-12. The Pincourt, Que., native scored once in the playoffs as the Canucks were eliminated by the Los Angeles Kings in the first round.
Hackett, meanwhile, spent the majority of the season with Minnesota's American Hockey League affiliate in Houston.
The London, Ont., native had a 3-6-0 record in 12 games with the Wild to go along with a 2.38 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage.
Burrows and Hackett will both be representing Canada internationally for the first time.
Teams can add additional players over the course of the championship, with a limit of 25 players on the official roster. Players will not get officially registered to the roster until May 3.
Canada opens the tournament against Slovakia on May 4.