MONTREAL, QC. — Just because the Montreal Canadiens didn’t take the ice this week for their first scheduled pre-season game, it doesn’t mean that you won’t see some of your favorite players suit up for a game very soon.
Thursday, September 27th marks the first of a series of exhibition games called La Tournée des Joueurs, or The Players Tour. The tour will be played by current NHL players and was devised by Quebec-natives Maxime Talbot and Bruno Gervais of the Philadelphia Flyers. The organizers hope to start holding two exhibition games at various arenas in Quebec per week, on Thursday and Friday nights.
Tomorrow’s inaugural game will be held at Centre Multisports in Châteauguay, a suburb of Montreal. At just $20 per ticket, a sellout crowd of more than 1,000 spectators is expected to attend. Proceeds from the games will benefit hockey charities in each city the tour visits.
Players from around the league have been invited to play, like Simon Gagné, Marc-André Fleury, Guillaume Latendresse, and Kris Letang. Habs fans will have a vested interest in watching, with Brian Gionta, David Desharnais, Josh Gorges, and Colby Armstrong expected to participate. Goaltender Carey Price has expressed interest but is not yet confirmed.
Former NHL-er Joel Bouchard has endorsed the tour, having held a similar event during the 1994-95 lockout. One difference between that tournament and the 2012 Players Tour is that this time games will feature 15-minute periods with five-on-five game-play.
Before the puck drops in Châteauguay tomorrow night, we found event organizer Max Talbot in another impressively produced action video where he attempts to show off his skills with a hockey puck in a truly unique manner.
