Brendan Burke Returns to Scottsdale, Joins TPH-Phoenix Team
SCOTTSDALE, AZ – TPH is pleased to welcome former Jr. Coyote ‘AAA’ goaltender and Canadian Hockey League standout Brendan Burke to the TPH-Phoenix team as a full-time Player Development Coach & Mentor, with concentration on instructing the goaltenders who attend the Center of Excellence. A Scottsdale native, Burke returns home to The Desert after wrapping up four years at the University of Alberta, where the 25-year-old graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Economics while tending the net for the Golden Bears, considered by many to be one of the top college hockey programs in Canada.
“Brendan is going to be a terrific fit for the Coach-Mentor role with TPH-Phoenix,” Director of Hockey-Operations Brett Blatchford said. “His experiences playing at high levels and his desire to give back not just to a game that has been his passion, but also to a market that helped him discover his passion. will provide great perspective to our student-athletes. Our inaugural class at the Center of Excellence will love Brendan’s infectious energy and his ability to relate to what each individual is going through, not just on, but also off the ice.”
After competing at the 16U level for the Jr. Coyotes in 2010-2011, Burke embarked on a five year journey in the Canadian Hockey League, first with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, from 2011-2015, where he was part of a WHL championship squad in 2013, followed by brief stints with the Calgary Hitmen and the London Knights of the OHL. While a member of the Knights, Burke captured a Memorial Cup and was the recipient of the Dave Pinkney Award, given to the top goalie tandem in the OHL.
Selected 163rd overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft by his hometown Coyotes, Burke elected to pursue his academic and athletic goals following his five years in the CHL, heading north to the University of Alberta. In addition to his on-ice accolades, the Scottsdale native was a 2020 Academic All-Canadian award recipient and was nominated for UAB’s prestigious Randy Gregg Award, presented to a student-athlete who excels on the ice, in the classroom and in the community.
Burke is excited to return home to Scottsdale and continue his hockey journey by mentoring aspiring elite student-athletes at the TPH-Phoenix Center of Excellence.
“I feel very fortunate that my first job following graduation is in hockey, is in Scottsdale and involves doing for young players what so many have done for me,” Burke said. “The Center of Excellence provides so many unique opportunities for goal-oriented student-athletes to reach their goals, whether it be in hockey, in school or in the real world. Hockey players in the Phoenix area are lucky to have a program like the CoE right at the Ice Den in Scottsdale, and I am grateful to be a part of it.”
