McGill grad Burnett guides East to OHL all-star win

By Earl Zukerman

WINDSOR, Ont. – George Burnett, a McGill University graduate, coached the Eastern Conference to an 11-6 victory over the Western Conference at the annual Ontario Hockey League all-star game in the Windsor Family Credit Union Centre, Wednesday.

Cody Hodgson of the Brampton Battalion paced the East with a three-goal, two-assist performance.

Burnett, a 46-year-old native of Port Perry, Ont., achieved All-Canadian honours as a centre with the McGill Redmen during his freshman campaign in 1982-83 and earned a physical education degree in 1986.

Among his classmates back then was Jamie Kompon, now an assistant with the Los Angeles Kings and Mike Babcock, head coach of the Detroit Red Wings.

Burnett has racked up 574 career victories in numerous coaching stints, including the American Hockey League’s Binghampton Rangers and the Cape Breton Oilers, where his team won the Calder Cup championship in 1993.

He also served as head coach of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers (1994-95) and was an assistant with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks (1998-2000).

Burnett is in his 11th season as a coach in the OHL, where he presently serves the coach and general manager of the OHL’s Belleville Bulls, which lead the East Division with a 34-14-4 record. He has also directed the Niagara Falls Thunder and the Guelph Storm, where his team won the OHL championship in 1998.

A two-time OHL coach-of-the-year recipient, Burnett led Canada to gold at the 2001 world under-18 championships in the Czech Republic.