Flyers scout Patrick Burke, who happens to be Brian Burke's son, did a Reddit AMA today. AMA stands for "ask me anything" and when they're done right, they can be pretty awesome.
Patrick is promoting the You Can Play Project, founded in honour of his brother Brendan to make locker rooms safe for LGBT athletes around the world.
Here are some Patrick Burke answers that would be interesting to Leaf fans.
Q: Can we get your dad for an AMA as well? I'm sure /r/hockey would love that.
A: My dad just mastered his blackberry about 6 months ago. In 15 years when he understands how online message boards work, I will have him do an AMA.
Q: What was Brian Burke like as a dad?
A: Truculent? In all seriousness, the image that the public has of my father is not accurate. He takes on a lot of heat for himself in order to save his team or coach the hassle, and people seem to judge him by that. He sees that as part of his job. He has a very big heart- I guarantee he does more charity work than any other GM in professional sports, and he does it very quietly.
Q: What was your (and your dad's) very first reaction when you found out Brendan was gay?
A: I gave Brendan a hug, told him I didn't care. Then we walked back inside my family's house and I yelled "Mom, you owe me twenty bucks! I always told you he was gay!" An older brother's job is always to harass his younger brother. I wanted Brendan to know that nothing would change about our relationship.
Q: 1) How has your dad handled all the stress of being the GM of the Leafs within the last couple months as they've dropped in the standings?
2) What position do you think the Leafs need to fill the most to be a strong playoff team next year? Who do you think will fill that position (realistically)?
3) What do you think of the media pressure on the coach and your dad in Toronto? How well do you think Wilson and your dad had/have handled the media?
Thanks from a die-hard Leafs fan. (They're actually a religion to me).
A:
I'm still waiting for Patrick Burke to answer that last series...
