The first one always is the most memorable.
The adjustment in jumping from minor league hockey to the NHL is steep, but those veterans that first take the ice with a young player can help navigate some of those growing pains.
Sharks defenseman Brent Burns began his NHL career as a forward with the Minnesota Wild, and benefited from that very situation.
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SIGN UP HERE "It changed a lot in my first year, because the lineup changed quite a bit,” Burns told ESPN. “But I played with Alexandre Daigle. I was a right wing, he was a left wing. And Marc Chouinard at center. It kinda switched off between Chouinard, Darby Hendrickson and Wes Walz.
“Wes Walz was an unbelievable leader and taught me a lot. Really helped shape me quite a bit.”
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Walz was in his third season back in the NHL after a mid-career decision to play in Switzerland for five seasons.
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Burns spent his first seven NHL years in Minnesota before being traded to San Jose in June 2011.
Now in his 16th season, Burns has an opportunity to do the same for young players coming up through the Sharks’ system.