Shawn Burr: The Fight Of His Life

In February 2011 former Detroit Red Wings player Shawn Burr was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. It is a form of cancer that starts in the bone marrow. He has been in the fight of his life ever since. Now it appears he is beginning to get the upper hand in his battle.

From the London Free Press:

Shawn Burr finally got some good news in his battle with acute myeloid leukemia.


They have found a match for a bone marrow transplant, which the former NHLer and Sarnia native will be having May 23.


"He's not feeling the best right now," said David Goetze who runs the Shawn Burr Foundation dedicated to raising money for research into blood disorders. "But he's in remission so he's a good candidate for transplant. Through the bone marrow registry there was a woman that was found to be a matching candidate found in Toronto."

Shawn Burr was born in Sarnia, Ontario Canada on July 1St 1966. He starred for the Kitchener Rangers in the OHL and was selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1st round, 7th overall, in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft.

In 1987 he joined the Red Wings, where he played for 10 years. He was a solid depth forward, playing a defensive role either as a diligent checker. Occasionally he would play on a top line with offensive players, but he was more of a safety valve in such situations as he lacked the speed to be a significant offensive contributor in the NHL. He was a very well liked teammate, forming a special relationship with young Russian forwards new to America, most notably Sergei Fedorov.

Shawn played in 878 NHL games scoring 181 goals and 259 assists. He finished his career with stints in Tampa Bay and San Jose. He retired back in Michigan and became a financial planner.

Upon his diagnosis with AML, the Burr family created the Shawn Burr Foundation, raising over $1 million in the fight to find a cure of this lesser-known cancer.