With the departure of Michael Palandra to the OJHL, the Clippers were looking for another 20-year-old offensive defenceman to add scoring punch from the backend. Josh Burke is a six-foot, 181-pound defenceman from Florida, USA. He started his high school hockey in Florida where he accumulated 186 points in 73 games, including 97 goals and 89 assists for a 2.55 points per game average, staggering numbers for a defenceman. Given his great success in Florida, he moved on to the New Jersey Jr. Titans program, one of the top programs on the East Coast of the US, where again he put in some very impressive numbers for a defenceman, well over a point per game. He then jumped to the NAHL midway through the 2019-20 season with the Admarillo Bulls and then last year, he was with the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks where he accumulated 23 points in 45 games.
Coach Naylor offers the following; “Josh was a player that I was specifically watching in Boston after being told by many scouts to keep an eye on him. Instantly, you can see the high level hockey IQ he has to go along with an elite skill set. Josh will be a welcome addition to the Clippers PP unit, which needs to improve. He is a Dual citizen which helps us keep an import spot open. I am happy to have acquired this player as he now gives us the depth on the backend needed to compete in the BCHL.”
Wes Mussio, President and Owner of the Clippers, added; “I have been scouting the south looking for some import players to ensure that the Clippers remain at the elite level in the league this year. I had an opportunity to see Josh Burke and he reminds me of the ex-Bruin, Greg Hawgood. He is very clever and smart with the puck and has the ability to dictate the pace of the game using a puck possession style approach. He will definitely be a quarterback on the power-play and with that and the fact that he loves to jump into the rush, I anticipate Josh to be one of the top 10 scoring defenceman this year in the BCHL.”
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