Who Is The Best Hockey Player To Come From Burlington?

 By Ewan Webb

January 3rd, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

Burlington, Ontario, is a hockey-crazed city just outside Toronto and a mere few miles west of the United States border. Burlington is known for its enthusiastic fandom of the Toronto Maple Leafs, a city that is home to many National Hockey League greats. These include Dale Hawerchuk, owner of 1409 points. However, it is essential to remember some hockey players that came out of Burlington specifically, not just the greater Toronto area. This article will look at the five best professional hockey players from Burlington.

5 | Shane Wright

Wright signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Kraken and has already made waves.

The topic of professional hockey players from Burlington may be buzzing more than usual, thanks to Shane Wright. The 19-year-old center from Burlington could be an NHL odds favorite to top this list in a few years. A gold medalist for the Canadian under-18 team in 2021, Wright was projected to be the #1 overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry draft by many experts. However, he fell to the #4 overall pick, eclipsing Adam Creighton as the highest pick out of Burlington. Wright signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Kraken and has already made waves.

Wright was one of the last players cut from Kraken training camp and scored four goals and six points overall in his first seven games with Seattle’s top minor league affiliate. This included a streak of three consecutive games with a goal. He’s good enough that he needed an exception to avoid playing in juniors this season because his play was too advanced for the fellow teenagers he’d face in the Ontario Hockey League. He may not be a factor at the NHL level yet, but he will be soon.

Mark Reeds, known for his post-playing coaching career.

4| Mark Reeds

Known more for his post-playing coaching career, Reeds was born in Toronto but grew up in Burlington. He played his junior hockey with the Toronto Marlboros before moving on to the Peterborough Petes. The St. Louis Blues eventually drafted him in the 5th round of the 1979 NHL Entry draft.

Reeds spent nearly three full seasons with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in the Central Hockey League before getting his shot in St. Louis, making the most of it. In four full seasons with the Blues, Reeds averaged a respectable 31 points per season, including a career-high 39 in 1984-85. After retiring, he spent 15 seasons as a coach between minor league hockey teams before being named head coach of the Owen Sound Attack. He won the J. Ross Robertson Cup in his final season before joining the Ottawa Senators as an assistant.

3| Ron Sedlbauer

Sedlbauer jumped between Vancouver, the Seattle Totems, and the Tulsa Oilers for nearly five seasons, even as he played at almost a full-time level in Vancouver.

No player on this list had a roller coaster career like Ron Sedlbauer. Born in Burlington in 1954 and drafted 23rd overall by the Vancouver Canucks 20 years later, Sedlbauer jumped between Vancouver, the Seattle Totems, and the Tulsa Oilers for nearly five seasons, even as he played at almost a full-time level in Vancouver. Despite his constant changes of scenery, Sedlbauer had a breakout season in 1978-79, scoring 56 points and 40 goals for the Canucks. He went on to play for the Chicago Black Hawks and Toronto Maple Leafs before calling it a career. He still lives in Burlington and is the Burlington Cougars Jr. A hockey club president.

2 | Josh Anderson

Columbus Blue Jackets took Anderson in the 4th round of the 2012 NHL Entry draft, where he spent six seasons.

The only current player on this list, Anderson was born in 1994 and spent his early days playing both hockey and baseball. He was eligible to be drafted in the 2010 Ontario Hockey League Entry Draft, but every team passed over the undersized 16-year-old. Two years later, the Columbus Blue Jackets took Anderson in the 4th round of the 2012 NHL Entry draft, where he spent six seasons. Since 2016-17, he has averaged 59 games per season and scored 208 points, including 126 goals. He had a career year in 2018-19 for a playoff-bound Blue Jackets team, scoring 47 points, the 4th most on the team.

1 | Adam Creighton

Adam Creighton had hockey in his blood.

Until Wright’s selection in the 2022 draft, no player from Burlington had been selected higher in the NHL Entry draft than Creighton, and for good reason. Born in 1965 to former NHL center Dave Creighton, Adam had hockey in his blood. Taking after his father, Creighton played center well enough to be drafted #11 overall in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres. Creighton immediately found his way onto the ice as an 18-year-old, playing seven games the year he was drafted and scoring two goals. By 1988, he had become a regular, but Buffalo traded him to Chicago that same year. The following season, he played in all 80 games and scored a career-high 70 points with 34 goals.

To date, no player from Burlington has scored more points than Creighton. After his last professional tournaments in 1999, Creighton became a scout for the Boston Bruins.

What Kind Of Hockey Town Is Burlington?

Toronto is known for the Maple Leafs, and while it’s a suburb, Burlington shares that identity. The hockey pedigree of this town is strong, with Creighton leading the charge and Wright moving up the ranks. Burlington should continue to grow that resume. Look out for Wright in Seattle these next few seasons, and expect to hear more about Burlington when he begins to make an impact.

Somewhere in that crowd you can bet there are people from Burlington.