Charlie Burns

Charlie Burns


Born	(1936-02-14) February 14, 1936 Detroit, MI, USA
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position	Center
Shot	Left
Played for	Detroit Red Wings Boston Bruins Oakland Seals Pittsburgh Penguins Minnesota North Stars
Playing career	1952–1974

Charles Frederick Burns (born February 14, 1936) is a retired American-born Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 749 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Oakland Seals, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Minnesota North Stars. Burns was mainly known for being an excellent skater, playmaker and defensive player who performed checking and penalty-killing. His trademark was the heavily padded helmet that he was forced to wear after suffering a serious head injury while playing junior hockey in 1954–55.

In 1959, he was the only US-born player in the NHL. Although Burns was born in Detroit, Michigan, his family moved to Toronto, Ontario when he was a child.^[1] Burns chose Canadian citizenship when he turned 21^[2] and later played for the 1958 World Champion Whitby Dunlops.

Burns had three spells as a player-coach, twice with the San Francisco Seals (1965-66 & 1966-67) and one with the Minnesota North Stars (1969–70). He coached the Stars again in 1974-75 after his retirement. Curiously, all of these were midseason assignments. He currently coaches youth hockey for the Wonderland Wizards of Bridgeport, Connecticut in his spare time.^[3]

Career Statistics

			Regular Season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1952–53	Toronto Marlboros	OHA-Jr	33	5	7	12	17
1953–54	Toronto Marlboros	OHA-Jr	59	17	14	31	45
1954–55	Toronto Marlboros	OHA-Jr	3	0	0	0	0
1955–56	Toronto Marlboros	OHA-Jr	20	5	8	13	0
1956–57	Whitby Dunlops	OHA-Sr	40	16	25	41	29
1957–58	Whitby Dunlops	OHA-Sr	31	24	28	52	32
1958–59	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	9	11	20	32	—	—	—	—	—
1959–60	Boston Bruins	NHL	62	10	17	27	46	—	—	—	—	—
1960–61	Boston Bruins	NHL	62	15	26	41	16	—	—	—	—	—
1960–61	Kingston Frontenacs	EPHL	8	3	6	9	4	—	—	—	—	—
1961–62	Boston Bruins	NHL	70	11	17	28	43	—	—	—	—	—
1962–63	Boston Bruins	NHL	68	12	10	22	13	—	—	—	—	—
1963–64	San Francisco Seals	WHL	68	33	36	69	27	11	1	3	4	2
1964–65	San Francisco Seals	WHL	51	27	36	63	19	—	—	—	—	—
1965–66	San Francisco Seals	WHL	40	10	35	45	26	7	1	5	6	0
1966–67	California Seals	WHL	71	22	38	60	29	6	0	0	0	9
1967–68	Oakland Seals	NHL	73	9	26	35	20	—	—	—	—	—
1968–69	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL	76	13	38	51	22	—	—	—	—	—
1969–70	Minnesota North Stars	NHL	50	3	13	16	10	6	1	0	1	2
1970–71	Minnesota North Stars	NHL	76	9	19	28	13	12	3	3	6	2
1971–72	Minnesota North Stars	NHL	77	11	14	25	24	7	1	1	2	2
1972–73	Minnesota North Stars	NHL	65	4	7	11	13	6	0	0	0	0
1973–74	New Haven Nighthawks	AHL	64	10	19	29	73	10	1	3	4	16
NHL Totals			749	106	198	304	252	31	5	4	9	6

Coaching record

Team	Year	Regular season						Post season
Team	Year	G	W	L	T	Pct	Finish	G	W	L	Result
MIN	1969–70	44	10	22	12	0.364	3rd in West	6	2	4	Lost in quarter-finals
MIN	1974–75	42	12	28	2	0.310	4th in Smythe	Did not qualify
Total		86	22	50	14

References

↑ Shorthanded: The Untold Story of the Seals: Hockey's Most Colorful Team (p. 47), by Brad Kurzberg, AuthorHouse (2006), ISBN 1425910289
↑ The Pappy Line, Time Magazine, March 2, 1959
↑ Kurzberg, p.48

External links

Preceded by Wren Blair Jack Gordon	Head coach of the Minnesota North Stars 1969–70 1975	Succeeded by Jack Gordon Ted Harris