Power Within III Excerpt: Sean Burke

Kevin Woodley | February 27, 2025 | 5 min read

Sean Burke emphasizes that goaltenders must focus on controlling what they can control — work ethic, preparation, and daily commitment.
Burke warns that younger goalies often don't understand what working hard truly means and need repeated exposure to that lesson before it fully sinks in.
With 19 NHL seasons as a player and 17 as a goalie coach, Burke represents one of the longest combined playing and coaching tenures in NHL goaltending history.
Burke won a Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023 as part of their goaltending staff.
The Power Within III, co-authored by Justin Goldman and Mike Valley, features elite goalies and goalie coaches sharing playing and coaching wisdom.

The brand new The Power Within III book is out, and InGoal Magazine has teamed up with co-authors Justin Goldman and Mike Valley to provide exclusive excerpts to our Premium Members.

As we heard from Valley in his recent appearance on the InGoal Radio Podcast, the new book is loaded with great lessons and anecdotes from a variety of elite goalies, goalie coaches and some who have done both, including this latest entry from Sean Burke, who played 19 NHL seasons and has now coached for 17.

Burke has been an NHL goalie coach or director for Arizona, Montreal, and is currently with Vegas, where he won a Stanley Cup in 2023. Not only is he one of the longest tenured NHL goalie coaches, but he’s part of an exclusive group of that played NHL games into their 40’s (think Martin Brodeur, Dominik Hasek, and of course Marc-Andre Fleury). With so much experience on and off the ice, Burke exemplifies what it means to have a relentless pursuit for goaltending greatness, and he shared some of his playing and coaching wisdom in The Power Within III: