| Nelson Burton | |
| Position: | Left wing |
| Shoots: | Left |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 1 |
| Weight Lb: | 215 |
| Played For: | Washington Capitals |
| Birth Date: | 6 November 1957 |
| Birth Place: | Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Draft: | 57th overall |
| Draft Team: | Washington Capitals |
| Draft Year: | 1977 |
| Career Start: | 1977 |
| Career End: | 1984 |
Nelson Keith Burton (born November 6, 1957) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left wing. He played 8 games in the National Hockey League with the Washington Capitals during the 1977–78 and 1978–79 seasons. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1977 to 1984, was spent in the minor leagues. He was selected by Capitals in the fourth round (57th overall) of the 1977 NHL Amateur Draft.
Burton was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia. He played junior hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Hull Festivals and the Quebec Remparts.
Burton played eight games in the NHL, spending the balance of his career in the minor leagues. He scored one career NHL goal against future Hockey Hall of Famer Tony Esposito. He played mainly in the American Hockey League with the Hershey Bears, Nova Scotia Voyageurs, Syracuse Firebirds, and Baltimore Skipjacks. Burton was involved in youth hockey programs in Maryland for many years. He was also the coach for the Maryland Terrapins men's club hockey team. He now runs Nelson Hockey, a developmental youth hockey organization.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |||||
| 1974–75 | Hull Festivals | QMJHL | 66 | 20 | 19 | 39 | 353 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1975–76 | Hull Festivals | QMJHL | 39 | 13 | 9 | 22 | 122 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Quebec Remparts | QMJHL | 32 | 13 | 16 | 29 | 198 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 90 | ||
| 1975–76 | Quebec Remparts | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | ||
| 1976–77 | Quebec Remparts | QMJHL | 67 | 22 | 28 | 50 | 393 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 70 | ||
| 1977–78 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 57 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 323 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 51 | 6 | 19 | 25 | 204 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Syracuse Firebirds | AHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Nova Scotia Voyageurs | AHL | 70 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 190 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | ||
| 1980–81 | Erie Blades | EHL | 68 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 385 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | ||
| 1981–82 | Nashville South Stars | CHL | 49 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 128 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1982–83 | Baltimore Skipjacks | AHL | 60 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 71 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | Erie Golden Blades | ACHL | 65 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 156 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 79 | ||
| AHL totals | 240 | 16 | 45 | 61 | 788 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | ||||
| NHL totals | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||