by Erica, Staff Writer and Fundraising Specialist, All Habs Hockey Magazine

MONTREAL, QC. — Everyone deserves to relax a little. This episode of 24CH showed us that the Canadiens love their downtime just as much as game days. Here’s what we learned:

Hockey isn’t just NHL games. Two days, two community events for the Canadiens. First was the fan practice at the Bell Centre, where children of all ages filled the stands and hit the ice with Habs players, playing games and goofing around with Youppi! Players who are pretty new to the team are impressed with the turnout – Nathan Beaulieu is amazed that even a practice could fill up the Bell Centre, and Christian Thomas appears humbled to have taken part.

The next day was the inauguration of an outdoor rink, built as part of an initiative from the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation. This is the sixth rink that the Foundation has built, and the first to be located off the island of Montreal. The inauguration is a big hit – Geoff Molson looks proud to be there and the Habs seem to enjoy spending a quiet afternoon with local kids. Beaulieu challenged one kid to a race, and Manny Malhotra joked around with another as they laced up their skates. (The kid didn’t look too impressed, even though Malhotra is probably a master of dad jokes.) Local gym teacher Alexis Vadeboncoeur talks about how excited he is to have a rink right by his school: “I can help my students develop a passion for hockey.”

P.K. Subban knows what he likes. (And what he doesn’t.) Most of this is common knowledge. Subban does not like losing. During the second intermission of a game against the Nashville Predators, where the Habs had been frustrated and outshot, he showed his anger in a way that 24CH usually doesn’t show – he swore, loudly, and threw his stick at a wall, ignoring everyone around him. Subban does love signing sticks and giving them to fans – he did so at the open practice, the rink opening, and after he won that game against Nashville. (He wasn’t named first star, though, because Carey Price has that on lock. Obviously.) Subban also loves hamming for the camera – he would have made an excellent All-Star, but the league’s loss is 24CH’s gain. He walked right up to the camera postgame and announced Carey Price’s plans to rock the All-Star Game and his own plans to go back to Toronto and enjoy his mother’s cooking.

Taking a break for All-Star weekend. We didn’t get to see Subban’s return home, but this episode did follow his teammates to All-Star weekend and beyond. Jiri Sekac didn’t look like much of a morning person, driving to the airport early in the morning, but was pretty pleased once he got to Columbus and spent time with other NHL players who hail from his native Czech republic. Carey Price looked forward to seeing other players that he usually competes against, and was pretty happy to reunite with Olympic teammate Drew Doughty.

Tomas Plekanec was the only player in this episode to choose to stay in Montreal. A few days off gave him the opportunity to spend some time at a tennis court – and yes, obviously, he’s a great tennis player. (That’s what his trainer said. I don’t know the difference, but I usually assume that Plekanec will be excellent at everything.)

Despite a very early morning drive to the airport, Mike Weaver is in good spirits, and introduces us to his family as they prepare to spend a few days under the Florida sun. Weaver’s children didn’t get much screentime, but he did joke that he’s raising children with teeth missing just like his – his 7-year-old son, starting to lose his baby teeth, accidentally knocked out two of his 3-year-old sister’s teeth with a powerful slapshot. Uh oh.

Lastly, Dale Weise and his growing family are up before the sun for their own flight – they’re going back home to Winnipeg and Weise’s young son is pretty excited to be awake so early. Weise himself is not a morning person but is very happy to be able to go home with his wife, even though the last year in Montreal has been a dream come true for him. While in Winnipeg, they visit an ultrasound clinic to find out the sex of their next baby. Weise’s guess was correct – his second child will be a girl.

So the episode ends on a happy note. The All-Star Game isn’t everything for everyone – it can be a well-deserved break for players who need a bit of time away from the jobs they love.