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Detroit Catholic Central player of the year candidate is glad he chose to be a Shamrock
Novi – Twice Ryan Burnett had the option of attending Detroit Catholic Central and play hockey or chose to play travel hockey, and continue his education elsewhere.
Each time Burnett decided to go to or remain at C.C.
Burnett is a senior forward and is a candidate for the Warrior Sports Player of the Year honor. He has nine goals and 18 assists this season. More important to him and his family is he’s excelled in the classroom. Burnett has a 4.1 grade-point average and he scored a 28 on the ACT.
When Burnett graduated from junior high attending C.C. was one of his options. The other was to continue to play travel hockey and attend a public school.
“For me, family and school comes before hockey,” he said. “I knew I was a good enough student and could excel (at C.C. academically),” he said. “With hockey, I didn’t know how it was going to work out. Some kids would say that AAA hockey was much better. That’s not true. Travel hockey is more for individuals, and to work on your individual skills. I talked with some guys who did that and they said it’s better to be around your friends.”
Last season C.C. won the Division 1 title in what was an emotional state tournament run. In October of 2013 Matt Sorisho, then a senior C.C., suffered an injury on the ice before the start of the high school season that left him paralyzed from the waist down.
The Sorisho famly, the C.C. community, especially those involved with the hockey program, were devastated. The team rallied Sorisho and played their best hockey in the state tournament culminating in a 5-1 victory over Brighton in the final.
“Last year it felt like it was more than playing for ourselves,” Burnett said. “We were playing good teams at the end of the season, and we had a few shutouts.”
His father, Roger Burnett, said coaches from a few AAA hockey teams approached his son about joining them for his senior year.
“Ryan liked C.C. so much,” he said. “His answer was a big fat, no.”
After Burnett and his teammates had been through, the friendships that were solidified, there wasn’t any way that he would not finish his high school career wearing a Shamrock jersey.
