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Hockey: It took a lot of fight for Burish to land letter

Adam Mertz  —  1/26/2008 11:44 pm

There's no easy reference for these sort of observations, but Adam Burish has to be one of the few players in NHL history who earned an alternate captain's letter on his sweater before he scored his first goal.

You could say the former University of Wisconsin standout fought hard for that honor … and you'd be right on a couple of counts.

Burish was awarded the "A" on Jan. 1, midway through his first full season with the resurgent Chicago Blackhawks. That's an unusually rapid ascension for any player, yet alone someone who was regarded as a fringe prospect and has just four points in 50 games this season.

The honor can be explained partially by Burish's leadership skills, which he demonstrated as a two-year captain with the Badgers and a bulwark of their 2006 NCAA championship team. Not to be ignored is the fact he hasn't been afraid to mix it up, even at hazard of coming out on the losing end of fisticuffs (which, according to the fan voting at the Web site hockeyfights.com, has been the case more than not).

Burish has amassed 120 penalty minutes this season, which is about 60 percent of his four-year total with the Badgers, and bears a fresh scar from a set of stitches that runs vertically alongside his left eye. Perhaps from that recent brawl with Ian Laperriere of Colorado? Or the tussle earlier this month with former Gopher Keith Ballard of Phoenix, while coming to the defense of Blackhawks teammate Jack Skille, another ex-Badger?

"I hadn't scored a goal yet, and I get a letter? That's because I'm doing other things that are getting recognized," Burish said on Saturday at the Kohl Center, where the Madison native was taking in the Badgers' series finale against Minnesota as part of a UW hockey alumni gathering over the NHL All-Star break.

"To play in that league, you've got to do something special, something different than someone else to keep your job. I've found a niche. I've found a niche, I think, which has allowed me to play. And that's part of the reason I think I was given a letter."

As proud as Burish is of contributing in other facets, he couldn't be more relieved to finally score his first NHL goal on Tuesday against San Jose. And the circumstances around that occasion made it all the more special.

The previous night, Burish went out to dinner in Chicago with two of the other "Chicago Badgers" -- Skille and Jacob Dowell -- as well as former UW strength coach Mike Potenza and former Wisconsin teammate Joe Pavelski, a member of the Sharks.

"Potenza was telling Pavelski, 'Don't let Burish get his first one here tonight. Whatever you do, don't let him get that first one in front of us,' " Burish recalled.

Pavelski kept the drumbeat going the following night on the ice.

"He goes and scores a goal," Burish recalled, "and we lined up right next to each other after the faceoff right after it and he goes, 'You better go get one, 'Bury.' You can't let me show you up.' "

Sure enough, Burish delivered. The photo that ran on the Associated Press wire after the game told a thousand words about the emotions coursing through him - head tilted back, jaw agape in mid-scream, fists clenched and drawn to his sides in the middle of a pump, leaning back on one skate.

Skille also scored that night, and the only downside for Burish was the final score: San Jose 3, Chicago 2, snapping the Blackhawks' four-game winning streak. But that didn't tarnish the significance of his first goal.

"It was special," Burish said. "Obviously, it was 58 games before I got my first one, and to get it, it was like an airplane fell off my back. It's something you'll always remember."

Adam Mertz  —  1/26/2008 11:44 pm