MONTREAL - Paul Byron has gained a new, yet familiar, colleague.
As a member of the Canadiens’ player development department, Burrows, who announced in July that he would be stepping away from his position as an assistant coach with the Club, has taken on a new role as a consultant like Byron and PWHL Montreal captain and Canadian Olympian Marie-Philip Poulin.
Byron and Burrows already know each other well. Having played against one another as foes throughout their long hockey careers, they developed a player-coach relationship once the latter retired and became an assistant coach with the Habs in February 2021. Now, their relationship will evolve even further as coworkers, something Byron is looking forward to.
“He has a great hockey mind and is a really great person. Any time you get to work with these kinds of people, it makes you really excited,” said the retired pro.
It’s also an exciting time for Burrows to be joining the Canadiens’ development team. With a plethora of young talent coming through the pipeline, the potential for developing prospects in Laval into promising future NHLers is high and having a guy with Burrows’ pedigree working closely with Habs hopefuls is a big plus.
“He has a lot of experience,” said Byron. “You know, I've played against Alex; he's a heck of a hockey player. He had to really earn everything he got. If I’m correct, I think he started in the East Coast Hockey League [the league officially changed its name to ECHL in 2003] and worked his way up to the American Hockey League, got to the NHL, he played fourth line, he played first line, he played with [Henrik and Daniel Sedin], he played with good players in Ottawa. So, he has a lot of experience to share with the young guys and he's got a passion for it, he's super outgoing, he brings a great energy.”
Burrows also has the advantage of being familiar with the Canadiens’ AHL affiliate.
The native of Pincourt, QC got his first coaching gig with the Rocket back in 2018-19 where he spent a little over two seasons as an assistant coach. In a way, Burrows is going back to his roots; he’s no stranger to working with the team’s prospects and his contagious energy and passion for the game has made others want to do better.
“I mean, he had a huge impact on me,” said Jake Evans, who had Burrows as a coach in the AHL and NHL. “He took a lot of time with me, especially in Laval, helping me grow and develop my game. He had just left the NHL the year before and came right in, so he kind of gave me good insight on where I needed to be to get to that next level.”
Given how much time they spent together and Burrows’ significant influence on Evans, it’s only natural for the 28-year-old forward to have “mixed feelings” about Burrows’ departure from the Canadiens bench. Ultimately though, Evans, who's about to embark on his sixth NHL season, understands that family—the driving force behind Burrows’ decision to change jobs—always comes first.
“I'm happy for him because now he can spend more time with his family and his kids are getting a bit older, so it'll be nice for him to spend some more time with them and not be on the road so much,” he said.
That’s something Byron really appreciates in his position.
“For me, it’s been amazing. […] I helped coach my son’s Atom team last year, I was involved with my daughter's hockey team, I was going to all their games, I wasn't missing on sports or events,” he explained. [...] “And watching the game with my son and cutting film and video, and for him to see me do it, is a really fun experience as well.”
Hopefully Burrows will get to create memories like these with his family at home and likewise gain new meaningful experiences with his hockey family at the rink.
