Chicago Blackhawks’ Throwback Thursday — Adam Burish

Adam Burish’s time with the Chicago Blackhawks was remembered at the recent team convention

One of the panels at the 2016 Blackhawks Convention was reliving the 2009-10 championship season. On the panel was Adam Burish, Ben Eager, Brent Sopel, Colin Fraser and Daniel Carcillo. That is why this Throwback Thursday focuses on one of the members.

This week are going to focus on Adam Burish. Burish was not known for his scoring prowess, but he was known for his grit, energy and fighting. He never ran from a fight.

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Burish was drafted in ninth round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. He spent four years at the University of Wisconsin before joining the Blackhawks organization. In four years with the Badgers, he appeared in 145 games, recording 28 goals and 50 assists.

In 2006-07, Burish joined the Rockford IceHogs. He spent 64 games at Rockford. He recorded 11 goals and 10 assists with the IceHogs. The Blackhawks would bring him in for nine games that same season, and he recorded zero points with two penalty minutes.

In his first full season with the Blackhawks in 2007-08, he appeared in 81 games with four goals and four assists with 214 penalty minutes. He would lead the team in that category by 111 minutes.

In 2008-09, Burish appeared in 64 games, down from the previous year. He would record six goals and three assists with 91 penalty minutes. After that season, Burish’s time with the Blackhawks would be marred by injury.

In 2009-10, he only appeared in 13 games because of an ACL injury. In his first game back, he would record an assist, very uncommon, and get into a fight, very common. Burish would appear in 15 playoff games that season and help the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup. The verbal jousting between Burish and then-Philadelphia Flyers forward Carcillo during that Final is still etched in my memory.

The 2009-10 season would be Burish’s last with the Blackhawks. He would be let go as part of the dismantling that took place during the 2010 offseason. He would move on to the Dallas Stars and spent the next two seasons with them. Burish had 14 goals, 19 assists, and 167 penalty minutes in Texas.

He would leave Dallas after the 2011-12 season and made his new NHL home in San Jose. In his three seasons with the Sharks, he appeared in 81 games with two goals and four assists. He was maligned in San Jose for being injured. Fans were very critical of his inability to stay on the ice.

Burish’s 2014-15 season was spent between the San Jose Sharks, the AHL’s Chicago Wolves and the AHL’s Worcester Sharks. The NHL’s Sharks would buy out Burish from his contract following the 2014-15 season.

With no NHL opportunities, Burish went overseas and played in the Swedish Hockey League. He played 19 games with Vaxjo HC. He had six points in 19 games. He then played three games with Malmo Redhawks in the SHL.

Word around the Blackhawks Convention was that Burish is retired from pro hockey, although no formal announcement has been made yet.

Next: Blackhawks' Low-Cost Free Agent Targets

Burish will be remembered fondly for playing on the fourth line with the 2009-10 champions. If you ever get the chance to hear his prank stories, I highly recommend it.