Valley Native Brady Burns Commits to Acadia
Saint John SeaDogs’ all-time leading scorer joins the Axemen
The Acadia Axemen are proud to welcome Port Williams native Brady Burns to the hockey program. Brady has played the last 5 seasons with the Saint John SeaDogs, of the QMJHL, where he became their franchise all time leader in goals and points this season.
Over his QMJHL career he amassed 258 points, including 116 goals, in 290 regular season games, along with 9 points in 16 playoff games.
We asked Brady what Axemen fans could expect from him on the ice this fall, he said, “Fans can expect a hard working forward, who has good skill and touch around the net, and is excited to play a fast Acadia Axemen style of game.”
Prior to joining the Sea Dogs, Burns played his minor hockey in the Valley, including his 1st year of NSMBHL when he suited up for the Valley (Kings Mutual) Wildcats, before moving on in 2016-17 to play with the Notre Dame Hounds U15 Prep. The next season in 2017-18 he returned to the Valley and played a year of NSMMHL with the Valley Wildcats scoring 39 points in 26 games.
In the 2018 QMJHL Entry draft, Saint John picked Burns in the 2nd round, 29th overall. He joined the SeaDogs as a 16 year old the next fall, putting up 29 points in 65 games.
The 2021-22 season proved to be a magical one for Brady and the SeaDogs, winning the Memorial Cup on home ice in Saint John. Fellow Axemen recruit for the upcoming season, Thomas Couture, was also a member of the MEM Cup winning team. This past season was Burns’ best offensively, as he recorded 71 points in just 61 games, including a QMJHL personal best 33 goals.
Coach Darren Burns sees the addition of the former Saint John sniper as an important piece to the lineup moving forward saying, “We are excited to add Brady to our program. We feel he fits what we need to help us build for the upcoming season. He brings many intangibles we want in our lineup. His passion for the game is at an extremely high level. He’s grown up watching this league, so he is aware of what he needs to improve on, in his game, to make the jump to the AUS. We want players that are loyal and understand commitment, and we feel he can bring that here to Acadia. We like the fact that he went to Saint John and targeted the SeaDogs and the QMJHL as the place he wanted to be at a very young age. He was part of a group that experienced a special time there. He has also benefited from the experience of the struggles of a rebuild, with success, as the team finished the year exceeding expectations. The passion for hockey is second to none in Saint John, and playing for a prestigious program like the Sea dogs has pressure and expectations with it. We want these types of players, who are accustomed to playing where hockey is high profile and there is pressure to win.”
We asked what it meant to him to be playing for Acadia, in front of the Valley fans again, Brady said, “Playing at home, in the Valley, is very exciting for me; to get the chance to come home after a long time away and play in front of fans, that I grew up watching games with, is a surreal feeling as a local player.”
Brady Burns becomes the 3rd member of an impressive recruiting trio announced thus far by the Axemen, along with goaltender Thomas Couture and forward Ethan Ernst. More commitments are expected to be announced in the coming weeks as the Axemen look to build their roster for the upcoming season.
A reminder that Acadia Axemen hockey season tickets are available for purchase both at the Acadia Box office, or online at acadiau.universitytickets.com! Get yours today and join in for the excitement for the 2023-24 season.