SYDNEY, N.S. — Nelson Burton credited his midget coaches in Cape Breton for opening a door that would lead to a pro hockey career.
“I was lucky that I had a great coach and a great manager in John Bickerton and Mackie MacIntosh, who are no longer with us,” said the 60-year-old Sydney River native.
“They’re two of the reasons why I was able to get where I got. They took us to Ontario to get exposure and once you get out there and people get a look at you, and they say ‘why don’t you come back for training camp next fall.’ It’s people like that I have to be very thankful for.”
Burton, who played in the NHL for the Washington Capitals as part of a pro hockey career that spanned seven seasons, was inducted into the Sydney Kinsmen Hockey Heritage Hall of Fame at Centre 200, Thursday.
His portrait and jersey will hang in the main concourse of the arena and will join others like Norm Ferguson, Kevin Morrison and Paul (Jigger) Andrea, all of whom were in attendance for the ceremony.
“There are some guys I looked up to as a kid and it’s an honour for sure,” said Burton. “For nothing else, it’s a great chance to reconnect with people I haven’t seen in a while, but also I’m going to be up there with guys I looked up to growing up.”
The path that opened in the early 1970s for Burton led to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and the Capitals selecting him in the fourth round of the 1977 NHL draft.
The bruising winger scored on the first shot of his first shift against Chicago Blackhawks hall of fame goaltender Tony Esposito for his only NHL goal. He would play a total of eight games with Washington over two seasons.
His American Hockey League resume was much more extensive, as he enjoyed stints with the Hersey Bears, Syracuse Firebirds, Nova Scotia Voyageurs and Baltimore Skipjacks.
He also played with the Erie franchise in both the former Eastern Hockey League and, later, the Atlantic Coast Hockey League.
Today, Burton lives in Odenton, Maryland, a small city 30 km south of Baltimore, and runs a hockey program that boasts over 300 kids and 100 adults. He said he comes back home each year to his summer home in Bras d’Or.
