Shot Left Playing career Role Ice hockey player Weight 99.8 kg Position Defenseman | National team Australia Name Don Burke Height 1.88 m Career start 1988 | |
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Born 25 January 1968 (age 56)
Penticton, BC, CAN ( 1968-01-25 ) Played for Central Hockey League, Wichita Thunder, Tulsa Oilers | ||
Don Burke (born 25 January 1968 in Penticton, British Columbia) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player, currently playing ice hockey for the Bartercard Gold Coast Blue Tongues of the Australian Ice Hockey League.
Playing career
A 6'2" defenceman, Burke played junior hockey for the Summerland Buckaroos of the BCJHL in 1985-86 and 1987–88, Prince George Spruce Kings of the Peace Caribou Junior Hockey League in 1986-87 and Kelowna Packers of the BCJHL in 1988-89 and went on to play three seasons at the University of Alabama in Huntsville an Independent in NCAA Division 1 from 1989-92. Burke attended Vancouver Canucks training camp in 1992 and from there, became a journeyman as he played for seven different franchises across four leagues in just three seasons. Among the teams he played for were: Atlanta Knights of the IHL, Memphis RiverKings of the CHL, Roanoke Valley Rampage of the ECHL (and later the same franchise under a new name, the Huntsville Blast), Tulsa Oilers, Wichita Thunder, and Dallas Freeze of the CHL and West Palm Beach Blaze in the Sunshine Hockey League operated primarily by Bill Nyrop ex-Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup Champion. Burke was a member of the West Palm Beach Blaze championship team of 1995, directly followed by representing an SHL 'All Star Team' in an 3-game exhibition series against the French National Ice Hockey Team which the SHL won 3 games to zero.
Burke now lives on the Gold Coast Queensland, Australia and has been a member of the Bartercard Gold Coast Blue Tongues (formerly the Brisbane Blue Tongues) organisation since their admission to the AIHL in 2005. He was named captain of the team for the 2006 season. Also represented Team Australia at the World Championships Division 2 in 2004 with a Bronze medal in Jaca, Spain and in 2005 with a Silver medal in Zagreb, Croatia. Finally retired after 37 years of organised hockey! And enjoying time with a beautiful family including daughters Elise and Brooke.