All Habs News: Wednesday August 31, 2011
Happy Birthday! NHL: Ondrej Pavelec, Blake Wheeler, Radek Martinek, Ryan Kesler, Matt Ellis and of course, Jean Beliveau
Anyone who has met him in person will tell you a similar story — this hockey hero, has a way of making those he meets, feel important. I’ll never forget his firm handshake, the way he looks me in the eye, and the way he says my name. The hockey community is much richer everyday that he is part of it.
Greg Meakin, formerly of Dorval and now a resident of Seattle has designed a website to help hockey fans celebrate Mr. Beliveau’s 80th birthday. You are invited to add your greetings.
►Third time a charm?: Randy Ladouceur is returning to the NHL for the third time as a coach when he joins Jacques Martin’s staff. In July Ladouceur signed a two-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens. In less than two weeks, Ladouceur and his fellow coaches will begin the pre-season with Habs Rookie Camp at the Bell Sports Complex from September 12-15.
“I love being on the ice. I love coaching. That’s what I love to do and I’ve been fortunate to be working at the top level with the top players as often as I have.” — Randy Ladouceur
Ladouceur Happy to be Back in NHL with Habs — Brockville Recorder and Times
The Habs will play their eighth and final pre-season game at Le Pepsi Colisee in Quebec City on October 1. They will then head to the resort town of Collingwood, Ontario for three days of practise, Oct 3-5, in preparation for their season-opener in Toronto on October 6.
►From our friends: We’re always happy to highlight articles of interest to our readers which appear elsewhere. See something you like, use the “Contact Us” tab to let us know and we’ll be sure to give you a hat tip.
The panel over at HabsWorld.net convened to make their best guesses about the number of starts for Canadiens backup goaltender Peter Budaj (consensus is about 20 games.) For the full article read Dividing Up the Goalie Games.