Burnett coaches to 600th OHL win
Saturday December 13, 2014
By Josh Sweetland/OHL
Belleville, ON – Belleville Bulls Head Coach George Burnett earned his 600th career OHL coaching victory on Saturday night at the Yardmen Arena. The Bulls charged out of the gate in the third period for three goals to defeat the visiting Ottawa 67’s 4-1 to improve to 16-14-1-1 on the season.
Currently in his 19th season as Head Coach behind an OHL bench and eleventh as Head Coach and General Manager in Belleville, Burnett leads active coaches in wins and is fourth on the OHL’s all-time list behind Brian Kilrea, Bert Templeton and longtime former Bulls coach Larry Mavety. He holds a career OHL coaching record of 600-506-51-70.
“I’ve been very fortunate to work in this league with so many great people,” Burnett said after Saturday’s victory. “When you reach a milestone like this you have a chance to reflect a little bit on all of the relationships you’ve made along the way with the kids, coaches, support staff, scouts and all of those people that don’t usually get the credit they deserve. I’ve received a lot of calls and texts with congratulations tonight and I’m very appreciative of all the support I’ve received from people along the way to make this possible.”
A native of Port Perry, ON, Burnett played three seasons with the London Knights (1979-1982) before moving on to play at McGill University. After serving as an assistant with the Oshawa Generals, Burnett made his OHL coaching debut with the Niagara Falls Thunder in 1989-90 and received back-to-back OHL Coach of the Year Awards in 1991 and 1992. Burnett also made OHL coaching stops in Guelph where he led the Storm to an OHL Championship in 1998 as well as a four year term in Oshawa from 2000-2004.
In addition to his OHL experience, Burnett has coached at the pro level with the Edmonton Oilers (1994-95) and served as an assistant with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks (1998-2000). He led the AHL’s Cape Breton Oilers to a Calder Cup Championship in 1993.
On the international stage, Burnett served as an Assistant Coach with the Canadian National Junior Team in 2011 and 2012 and also led the Canadian Under-18 Team to a gold medal finish in the 2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.
During his time in Belleville, Burnett has coached the Bulls to an Eastern Conference Championship, four East Division titles and an appearance in the 2008 MasterCard Memorial Cup.
Throughout his OHL coaching career Burnett has aided in the development of such NHL talent as Brad May, Nathan Horton, Matt Beleskey and P.K. Subban.
For more information, visit bellevillebulls.com.