In the first period of a preseason game against the Wild, Burish went into the boards awkwardly and tore his ACL. He doesn't score a lot for Chicago, but is a huge contributor to the team in almost every other way imaginable. As such, his reputation among the Hawks is really impeccable. He will be sorely missed until his (in my opinion, very optimistic) return target date of March 1st.
The main ESPN.com story features a link to a pretty solid Q&A session between Burish and some reporters that I highly recommend listening to. In fact, if you check out none of the other links here, check out the audio link on that story. Some quotes from there (which also pop up in a lot of the links I'll provide at the end here):
"I'm kind of reminded of when I was 18 years old, I went through a pretty srious car accident and the quote that stuck with me was "Make every obstacle an opportunity", and I'm gonna try to find a way to do that." -On finding the positives in the situation.
"I'll be around... I'll make fun of them and I'll tell them when they suck and tell them when they're good." -Jokingly, about his role with the team while he's recovering.
"I know they'll be fine... it's such a good team, such a deep team." -On how the Blackhawks will do without him.
"It was fine. It was fine. It was just one of those goofy plays ... I was just doing everything I could to get the puck out of the zone, I really reached for it and I was in kind of a vulnerable position and [Minnesota winger Benoit Pouliot] gave me a little shot from the side or from the back, and I went into the boards goofy." -Responding to a question of whether the hit from Pouliot was clean.
"That's probably the most frustrating part: I work so incredibly hard earlier in the summer... ten minutes into your first preseason game and most of your season is gone... If it was Game 7 of the Cup Finals, you could take both of my knees and I wouldn't care" -On the timing of the injury.
"I knew something was wrong, something didn't feel right. They asked me 'Did you hear a pop in the knee?' and I said, 'Guys, I didn't hear anything, I crashed into the boards.' That's all I heard, was the crash. ... But, when I got into the dressing room something didn't feel right." -More details about the injury itself.
Numerous articles are mentioning that the most likely replacement for Burish on the fourth line is to have Tomas Kopecky take over at center and bring up none other than Madison's own Jack Skille to the wing on the fourth line. I can't find a quote attributed to Hawks coach Joel Quenneville to that effect (the Southtown Star article below claims Quenneville has stated this, but does not quote him). While it hasn't been written, and nothing is assured, I certainly hope that that's the route the Hawks take.
Not as popular of a thought, but just as pleasing for us in Badgerland, is the notion of the other BadgerHawk- Jake Dowell- centering the fourth line. I believe I saw one mention of Dowell somewhere, but I can't recall where at this point. And its late, damnit.
Some articles about Burish's injury:
Hawks' Burish to Undergo ACL Surgery (ESPNChicago.com)
Moral Support: Burish Will Stick Around Hawks While Rehabbing Injured Knee (ESPNChicago.com)
Hard to Replace What Burish Does (dailyherald.com)
Hawks will miss Burish more than a lot of people think (Chicago Tribune)
Hawks' Burish Out Six Months With ACL Tear (Southtown Star)
Hawks Enforcer Burish Out For Season (NBC Chicago... notable article because Burish really isn't an enforcer, and the picture shown is of ex-Blackhawk James Wisniewski)
Burish Out For Six Months, Committed Indian Writers Hang Themselves (Second City Hockey... as usual with that site, the comments are pretty amusing. And, per SCH commenter Battery, he was at the Hawks first home preseason game, signing autographs and such in the 200 level stands. That's true class, Adam!)
And, because no Adam Burish story is complete without some reference to his rumored womanizing:
Adam Burish Knows All About Hockey Groupies (NBC Chicago "Street Team")
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