Manitoba Moose

Alexandre Burrows has always liked his job, be it the courageous yet yappy troublemaker days of his past or today's front-line scorer role.

The Vancouver Canucks left-winger never failed to have a glint in his eye after delivering a verbal dagger to an opponent and the joy was much the same -- though the smile was more broad and politically correct -- when he scored back-to-back hat tricks last week to earn NHL first-star-of-the-week honours on Monday.

His mission is that passion, not the financial reward he received late last season. The former ECHL skater who once had trouble sticking with the Manitoba Moose earned a contract extension through 2012-13 at $2 million per season.

"I've just tried to stay the same guy," Burrows said at GM Place, where the Canucks faced the Nashville Predators Monday night. "It's how my parents brought me up. Obviously it was nice to get recognized, to get the money out of the way and the contract out of the way.

"But that's not everything. My ultimate goal is to win the Stanley Cup and to perform and win a championship with my teammates and this organization and, well, right now we're focused on that task.

"It won't happen overnight. It's a lot of baby steps, a lot of work, but it's what we're trying to achieve."

Burrows, the undrafted kid from Pincourt, Que., has been a full-time NHLer since 2006-07 and is now the focus of some heady times in Vancouver. Not only does he keep famous neighbours in the Vancouver dressing room, with captain Roberto Luongo on one side and former Moose teammate Ryan Kesler on the other, he speaks a language few present or former teammates have ever been very good at -- Sedin.

Playing with NHL leading scorer Henrik Sedin and brother Daniel on the Canucks top line, Burrows just understands. He knows where to be, where to go, and how to deliver the puck to the magical twins.

They, in turn, have reciprocated, and Burrows is well on the way to another career year with 17 goals and 35 points, with a plus-19, in the first 45 games.

It's some journey for a former Moose cut.

Asked Monday for his first recollection of Burrows, Kesler, the blue-chip, right-side-of-the-tracks, first-round pick of 2003 said: "A skinny French kid."

"The first time I remember him is him getting cut from the team during the lockout year and going down to the East Coast league," Kesler said. "Then I remember him coming back up a month later and he was a real spark for us, fighting guys, scoring goals."

From then to now?

That's a long way, Kesler said.

"And he keeps getting better every year," he added. "He's getting his chances here. Now he's getting power-play time. And he's on the first line with the most unbelievable players and he's making the most of it. This has been good for him, well-deserved."

The distance he's come isn't lost on Burrows, either.

"It's a long way," he said. "But I've had a lot of luck on this path. Zinger (Moose GM Craig Heisinger) in Manitoba gave me a lot of help to show what I could do. He believed in me and trusted in me earlier on.

"When you have a quality man like Zinger help you out along the way, it's going to be a big help."

Recognition from the NHL on Monday was just another feather in his cap, but nobody on the West Coast needs any prodding now to be excited about Burrows.

"He had a great week with two hat tricks that really helped our team have success," coach Alain Vigneault said. "It was deserved."

To Burrows, the NHL award was just another day in the life.

"A few congratulations, a few text messages, that's it," he said. "It's a nice honour but it just reflects how well my linemates have been playing and my teammates have been playing.

"It's a dream, an honour."

Moose at Abbotsford 

Games: Tonight and Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. (CJOB)

Where: Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre

Series: Moose are 3-1 vs. the Heat after four games in Winnipeg

About the Heat: (20-16-2-3) Playing Games 3 and 4 of an eight-game homestand. Won the first two vs. Texas last weekend, sparked by former Moose Jason Jaffray's short-handed goal in Saturday's 4-2 decision... Expecting first two sell-outs (7,046) of the season with Vancouver's prospects in town.

About the Moose: (21-15-4-1) Earned just one point in two home games vs. Hershey on the weekend, finishing their own eight-game homestand at 5-2-1... Will have D Evan Oberg back in the lineup. Oberg was sent back by Vancouver on Sunday after playing 5:24 in Saturday's game vs. Calgary, his first NHL game... D Nathan McIver (hand) and Geoff Waugh (hand) are out; D Lawrence Nycholat (groin) made the trip... The Moose had a short practice Monday after they arrived.