Special Contributor // Jon Marshall
The second of a two-part series
The Capitals’ group of hopefuls exit the locker room one by one with an energy fitting for a playoff game. The top franchise brass is on hand to see who wants the one or two open roster spots. A Focused Burt enters the ice. The eyes have always been on him. This is nothing new. What pressure?
During warm-ups he treats each shot like it’s his last. He calculates his shot movement as the puck fires through the back of the net each time he shoots. Invited to the camp as a free agent, Burt is a long shot to make the team. He went through the same process last year with the Caps.
“Last year I was really nervous coming in,” he says. “I didn’t know what to expect. You see all the high draft picks. Now this year I’m a lot more relaxed and confident in myself to make plays. Not feeling like I gotta throw the puck away just so I don’t make a mistake.”
There are a select few players out on the ice who clearly are on the minds of the coaching staff. Beat reporters surround the action discussing these top prospects and what the future holds. Fans watch hoping to get the scoop on the future stars.
Burt relishes the underdog role.
“I love it,” he says. “I mean playing with some of the best guys in the country. Some of these young guys are seventeen years old and it’s amazing what they can do at their age, so just good to come out here and play with guys like this. It only makes me better playing with guys of this caliber. That’s all I can do right now, is leave it all on the ice.”
“I mean I really don’t have anything to lose. I guess I can’t be any lower than I’m at right now. Right now I’m feeling like I’m playing pretty good hockey. If they think I need to go back to school for another year and fine tune my skills, then that’s what I’ll do.”
Sure, if he were maybe a few inches taller and had more pounds on him, Burt may be on top prospects to watch list at camp. It’s only added fuel he certainly isn’t craving for. His main source of inspiration doesn’t come from the side eyed looks growing up or his long shot at making the team. It all stems from home.
“They are the reason that I’m here right now,” Bur says. “I put in a lot of work but I wouldn’t be anywhere without them. Just the support they gave me and the freedom to make my decisions when I wanted to leave teams and go try out for other teams. That’s the reason why I’m trying so hard to make it. The first check I get from hockey I’m gonna give back to them. They’ve done an amazing job with everything.”
Finances, lack of exposure and doubts. There are legit reasons why more young black athletes don’t try hockey or any other sport society says it not acceptable for them. Burt is one of a few who have tried to dispel any negative thoughts. He wants to make it for his parents yes. But there is a group of kids in Detroit who need that vision enabling them to stray from the expected and prove the doubters wrong.
Burt is proving them wrong still. “Cam! Cam!,” a young fan screams. He obliges to the youngsters request for an autograph and picture. A kid from Detroit is signing his autograph and posing for picture in hockey gear. Imagine that.
“Hockey is something that I wanted to do since I stepped on the ice for the first time,” Burt says. “I’ll never give up the dream of playing. I told myself one day I would play professional hockey somewhere. No matter what league it is.”
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