Adam Burish and Colin Fraser haven’t been teammates since the day the Chicago Blackhawks won the 2010 Stanley Cup, but they’ve maintained a close friendship.
“He texted me (Wednesday),” Fraser said. “All it said was, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’ I was like, ‘What? What’s going on?’ ”
Then Burish delivered the news: They had just become teammates again. The San Jose Sharks loaned the 32-year-old forward to the Wolves on Wednesday and, in return, the St. Louis Blues loaned Wolves forward John McCarthy to Worcester (AHL).
Burish wasn’t able to catch a flight in time to take part in the Wolves’ practice on Thursday morning, but he’ll be ready to go when the Wolves host Lake Erie at 7 p.m. Friday and Rockford at 7 p.m. Saturday at Allstate Arena.
There’s a chance Fraser and Burish and Ben Eager will work together on the same line – just like they did for the Blackhawks in 2008-09 and 2009-10.
“Hopefully me, ‘Eags’ and ‘Bur’ can rekindle some of our magic we had back in the day,” Fraser said. “We were the fourth line for two straight years. If we were all healthy, we played together. We’re complementary players. Me and ‘Bur,’ for sure, are very similar players: Penalty-kill, defense-oriented, up and down the ice kind of guys.”
Wolves head coach John Anderson always reserves the right to change his mind, but he likes the idea of getting the band back together.
“It’ll give us some bite,” Anderson said. “It’ll give us some speed. I haven’t seen (Burish) play in a couple years, but I remember him as a cantankerous son of a gun who gets in on the forecheck really good.”
Burish was exclusively an NHL player for seven-plus seasons and owns 27 goals, 33 assists and 554 penalty minutes in 378 regular-season appearances with the Blackhawks, Dallas Stars and San Jose Sharks. After posting 1 goal and 2 assists in 20 games with the Sharks this season, he cleared waivers in November and contributed 4 goals and 3 assists in 18 games for Worcester.
“Burish gives us an added dimension,” said Wolves general manager Wendell Young. “He can play center and the wing. Some extra depth at center is something that we needed.”
As the Wolves continue to battle in a loaded Midwest Division (Rockford, Milwaukee, Grand Rapids and the Wolves are separated by 6 points in the standings), Young will continue to look for more ways to improve his team.
“We’re almost halfway through the season,” Young said. “You have a feel for your team and what’s needed. It seems like everything heats up right now. A lot of people are calling and there are a lot of inquiries around the whole league. It was pretty quiet for a long time, but now it’s not.”