20 hockey smiles that prove teeth are overrated

16. Alex Burrows

Alex Burrows may be the only player on this list who would have lost teeth even if he never set foot on a hockey rink. In fact, he did not lose his tooth on the ice and shockingly, he didn’t lose it by being punched in the face. Burrows lost his tooth eating a granola bar.

Before chipping his tooth, he used his teeth to bite fellow NHL players. Burrows was accused of biting Patrice Bergeron’s finger in Game 2 of the 2011 Stanley Cup finals. If you don’t remember that incident, the aftermath is summarized well here.

On a personal level, there is so much I can say about Burrows as a player that wouldn’t make it through any reasonable editor. If it weren’t for the chance to link the 2011 Stanley Cup to this, I would have left him off entirely. That being said, he has the “hockey guy” look.

Burrows played 12 seasons for the Vancouver Canucks before being traded to the Ottawa Senators. Perhaps more impressive than his NHL career, Burrows was inducted into the Canadian Ball Hockey Hall of Fame. Until you read that, you did not know it existed. Alas, Burrows was a ball hockey star, winning several league championships and world cups before retiring in 2005. He was later voted Canada’s greatest ball hockey player ever. I am not making this up.

Being Canada’s greatest ball hockey player is a step up from being the best touch football player from your hometown (shout out to all the Kapuskasing Touch Football League Claybowl champions). Burrows managed to dominate local YMCAs before becoming an NHL player. Burrows was inducted into the CBH HOF in 2010, just five years after ball hockey great, Dick Power. Yes, actually.

Jokes aside, his ball hockey career is impressive. If you’ve ever played adult ball hockey, you’ll understand where Burrows gets all his dirty tricks from. Ball hockey is a vicious version of the sport. Regardless of my personal feelings, his hockey smile does belong on this list. It’s ugly but it’s memorable, just like Burrows.