Sean Burke

Sean Burke
Sean Burkeis a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey Leaguefor the New Jersey Devils, Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes, Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers, Phoenix Coyotes, Tampa Bay Lightning and Los Angeles Kings. Burke was born in Windsor, Ontario, but grew up in Toronto, Ontario...
ProfessionHockey Player
Date of Birth29 January 1967
competitor far great guy team
He's a great guy, a great team guy. Always a great guy to play with. As far as a player, he's as great a competitor as you'd want to play with.
behind build continue desperate gain hockey knew realize starting teams
Obviously, we knew some teams behind us were starting to gain some ground. We know what has to be done. We don't need to look at the standings to realize we aren't where we want to be. We need to be a desperate hockey team. This was something to build on, and we've got to continue to do that.
both chance consistent gives needs ours provide team type win
We want to feel that the goaltending is the kind of goaltending that a team like ours needs to be successful. I think that's the goal: to make the goaltending never be an issue. The only way to do that is for both of us to be consistent and to provide the team with the type of play that gives us a chance to win every night.
came gone guaranteed handle knew night opportunity pittsburgh played sit team
There is nothing guaranteed here, I knew that, ... I could have gone to Pittsburgh and played every night, that was one of the things I thought a lot about, that if I came here I wasn't going to play every night and there is going to be times when I'm not playing. How was that going to sit with me and how was I going to handle it. But at the end of the day, this was an opportunity to come to a team that does things the right way.
changes happen last stock team whatever year
No more this year than they have the last four, ... It's the same every year. I don't really put a lot of stock in it right now. Whatever is going to happen is a day-to-day thing in an organization like ours. We're a young team and if we are winning, things will be good. But if we're not, changes will probably be made. It's all part of the business.
confidence good guy team
It's always a good feeling. You want to contribute, you want to be a guy your team has confidence in. When you can go out there and do the job, that's why you play.
case enthusiasm fun games hanging key overall played saves sit sound team three total watch
It's been a total team effort, ... In the three games I've had to make some saves at key times, but overall we've played very solid. It's actually fun to sit back there and watch our team. We've played with a lot of enthusiasm and speed, and we've played pretty sound all over the ice. It hasn't been a case of us hanging on, we've played pretty strong.
behind biggest due fact felt gain good ground hard imagine knew needed realize reason starting teams win won
This felt good for a lot of reasons, but the biggest reason is because we needed a win bad. It's hard to imagine having to say that in January. We knew there were some teams behind us that were starting to gain some ground due to the fact that we haven't won a lot lately. But we know what has to be done. I don't think we have to look at the standings to realize we're not where we want to be.
best hard playing seen start team worry
I haven't seen anything like this in my 16 years in this league, ... What am I going to say? You've got to think about what's best for the team and you don't worry about individuals. Everybody's playing hard to keep this thing going right now, and I'm not going to start anything.
areas bad confident contagious fighting good guy hard starting struggling team
Individually we're all struggling confidence-wise. It's hard for your team to be confident when you don't have a lot of individuals who are confident. We're fighting it in a lot of areas of our game. It's up to each guy to find his game, starting with the goaltenders out. And that'll be as contagious in a good way as this is contagious right now in a bad way.
along anybody caught coaches coaching examples good help instill lessons lifestyle lucky push themselves time value work
I've been lucky to be caught by the right coaches at the right time when I was young who were able to instill in me the value of a professional work ethic. And that was something that I needed. I don't think anybody can push themselves without some help and there were some good lessons along the way. So for me, it was always been a lifestyle because of the coaching and examples that I've had over the years.
enjoyed happy opportunity places somewhere stage thankful
The way I look at it, I'm thankful for all the opportunities I've had to play in all the places I've played. I've enjoyed every place. And at this stage of the game, I'm happy to still have the opportunity to play somewhere else.
bench games night people pitcher season starter starting vice
Especially in the U.S., people liken it to a starting pitcher or a starting quarterback, and hockey's different. You're the starter the night you're playing. The night you're not, you're the backup. I don't think a lot about it. You could be the starter to start the season and then two games into the season you find yourself on the bench and vice versa.
contribute guy net perform role room
There's room for one guy in the net at a time, and you want to be the guy. I want to be the guy, but if I'm not playing, I know I have another kind of role that I have to perform to contribute to the team.