This past weekend some of the most decorated players in the history of the NHL gathered at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Chicago for the 2016 Blackhawks Fan Convention.
Blackhawks fans have been able to witness their team win three championships within six seasons; the first of which was won in six games against the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime. At the convention, the Blackhawks organization brought back some of the players from this championship team to speak to fans about the victory that set the tone for the seasons to come. Players Brent Sopel, Ben Eager, Colin Fraser and UW-Madison alumnus Adam Burish were some of the former Blackhawks on the 2010 team that were in attendance.
For Chicago Blackhawks fans, Burish may be remembered as their team’s enforcer, but for Badgers he is that and much more. As a Madison native, Burish had always dreamed of playing for the Badgers.
In an interview, Burish talked about his love for the Badgers.
“Every Friday/Saturday night I went to the Badger hockey games and that was the Mecca for me growing up,” Burish said. “I always wanted to play for the Badgers, I idolized those guys.”
His biggest aspiration was to play for the Badgers, but little did he know what would come after his time in Madison.
Burish was drafted to the NHL in the 9th round of the 2002 entry draft by the Blackhawks but played for the Badgers until he graduated in the class of 2006 with a major in Economics. In his final season with the Badgers, the team won the national title against Boston College 2-1. Burish was the captain of the team and assisted on both goals scored by Wisconsin. His sister, Nikki Burish, was the assistant captain for the Badgers women’s hockey team that also won a national championship that year.
After playing for the Badgers, Burish played for the Chicago Blackhawks and spent time in the AHL with the Norfolk Admirals. After winning the cup with Chicago in 2010, Burish was traded to the Dallas Stars (2010-2012) and then to the San Jose Sharks (2012-2015). Since his final season with the Sharks, Burish has played in the AHL with the Worchester Sharks and the Chicago Wolves. In the past season he has played in the Swedish Hockey League for the Vaxjo HC and Malmo Redhawks.
When asked about his thoughts on the new coaching staff consisting of Tony and Don Granato and Mark Osiecki, Burish simply smiled and nodded stating that he believes they will be “great” for the program.
Burish’s drive for success and his experiences as a leader for the Badgers give him the potential to be an asset to the organization and a compliment to the new coaching staff in the Granato era. As a current free agent with no potential contracts as of yet, there is always room to hope that Burish could one day come back to the Badgers hockey program as a member of the coaching staff or as an ambassador.