Chatting with Burrows

 

Angus: Alex, I hear you have been doing some work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. How has the experience been for you?

Burrows: We have worked with the NHLPA and donated 50 sets of equipment to kids in need, and they were really happy to get it. That was a lot of fun. On Sunday, I am going to meet this kid who is coming in from Alberta who says I am his favourite player.

Angus: A Burrows fan from Alberta? Say it isn’t so.

Burrows: Yea, I don’t know why either. He’s coming in and has been going through some tough times, but he’s doing better right now and I’m looking forward to meeting him.

Angus: Hopefully you can score a few goals for him

Burrows: Yea, it would be great to have a big game for him.

Angus: Before you broke into the NHL, did you have any idea you would have the level of community impact you do now?

Burrows: Not really, but I remember when I was a kid I used to look up to the Montreal Canadiens players, and when I would see one of them I’d always try for an autograph or picture or that kind of stuff. Now it’s my turn to give back to kids and that has been a lot of fun for me.

Angus: Working with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, as well as Canuck Place, has to be one of the most rewarding things you can do as a pro athlete, no?

Burrows: Oh for sure. When you go there [Canuck Place] you realize how lucky we are to be playing hockey and doing the things we love. Canuck Place is a place that helps so many families going through really tough times.

Angus: Puts things like hockey in perspective?

Burrows: Puts it in perspective, and we try and go there as much as we can. I know the guys really enjoyed the pumpkin carving we did there this year.

Angus: Alright, we are going to switch gears a little bit. So what are you listening to right now, what’s on the iPod?

Burrows: Right now, I like to listen to a lot of LMFAO to get myself going.

Angus: A little pre-game Party Rock Anthem?

Burrows: Some of the new stuff, but I mostly like the old school stuff though, like shots [shots, shots, shots, shots shots], and I’m in Miami.

Angus: At the Canucks Halloween party this year, what did you go as?

Burrows: It’s a secret.

Angus: You can’t tell?

Burrows: I can’t tell.

Angus: Fair enough. What was the best costume you saw?

Burrows: A couple of my friends, they dressed up as the green men, I thought that was pretty good.

Angus: I don’t know if you saw but Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall also went as the green men.

Burrows: Oh really! No I didn’t see that, apparently there were a few guys around the league who went as the green men.

I wonder if one of these guys is Glen Healy?

Angus: So do you or any of the guys on the team play any fantasy football at all?

Burrows: Oh yeah. We got a big, big fantasy league on the team, and I’m in first place right now.

Angus: Who’s on your team?

Burrows: I have Philip Rivers at quarterback, I got Wes Welker and Anquan Boldin at receiver, I got Arian Foster, Beanie Wells, Michael Bush, Adam Vinatieri, and Gronkowski.

I still have to work on my kicker and defense though.

Angus: So you must be rooting for the Patriots then.

Burrows: Yes, and it’s a PPR league – points-per-reception – and Welker and Gronkowski are getting like 10 catches each a week.

Angus: I am getting killed in mine – too many New York Jets.

Burrows: I can’t believe they lost to Denver [on Thursday night] when Tebow marched the field at the end.

Angus: He’s 4-1 as a starter in the NFL, hard to argue with that.

Burrows: Yea and he can’t even throw the ball.

Angus: What other sports do you follow?

Burrows: Everything.

Angus: How about tennis?

Burrows: I love tennis. I am really looking forward to the Davis Cup (coming to Vancouver next February). Every summer I go to the tournament in Montreal as well.

Angus: Have you been to any of the majors at all? I guess hockey conflicts with a few of them.

Burrows: No I haven’t, but when I was in France I went to the Roland Garros courts, just walked around the grandstands and saw it all.

Angus: I’d love to go to the US Open.

Burrows: Me too, that’s my favourite tournament. I love how the games are on so late at night, like midnight or one o’clock they are still playing and still serving bombs.

Angus: The top tennis players are ridiculously fit considering how long some of their matches are.

Burrows: They are all built the same, tall, lanky, with crazy stamina.

Angus: And it’s great with some good young Canadians now too.

Burrows: For sure. I have heard that they are putting [Milos] Raonic and [Vasek] Pospisil at the UBC hard courts on the concrete so their serves will get them tons of aces against the guys who would rather rally like [Jo-Wilfried] Tsonga or [Gael] Monfils (Canada is playing France at the upcoming tournament and those two are France’s best players).

The Davis Cup is really cool because you can cheer as much as you want and they don’t really tell the crowd to be silent at all.

Angus: Can you yell during the serves for the opposing player?

Burrows: I don’t think so, but most other times it is allowed.

Angus: I am sure you get asked a lot about your favourite road city – how about favourite road dressing room?

Burrows: Hmm. Tough to say.

Angus: Islanders?

Burrows: Ha, no, that one is the worst. Nicest one, probably Montreal, because it has a lot of history and they have a lot of pictures of past greats and Stanley Cup winners on the walls.

Angus: What’s the most recent movie you seen?

Burrows: Me and Roberto, we went to see In Time last road trip.

Angus: Did you like it?

Burrows: The concept was pretty good, but the movie was kind of weird, I didn’t really know where it was going.

Angus: I haven’t heard anything about it.

Burrows: It’s the one where everything is on a clock, and to stay alive longer the characters give each other time, and once you are at zero you die.

Angus: Sounds weird. What TV shows are you watching right now?

Burrows: Well, I’m a married guy, and I know me and my wife like the X-Factor right now. I don’t mind it, it’s better than some of those other shows.

Angus: What is your favourite piece of Sports Memorabilia?

Burrows: I got a signed Wayne Gretzky picture at home in a big frame when he was with the Oilers and he’s holding the Stanley Cup above his head.

And a couple of weeks ago when we were in St. Louis I bought a Cardinals 2011 jersey and I got it signed by [World Series MVP David] Freese and [Chris] Carpenter.

Angus: Game Six was one of the most unbelievable sporting events I have ever seen.

Burrows: It was unbelievable, the home town boy, with two strikes in the ninth. And people were questioning that Freese couldn’t play as well in the World Series as he did in the NLCS.

Angus: Yea, it was incredible. Thanks for the interview, Alex.

Burrows: No problem.