Byron: 'We have the best fans in the world'

MONTREAL - Of the close to 18,000 tickets distributed for the Canadiens Skills Competition presented by RONA, nearly 12,000 fans braved the brutal weather to hit up the Bell Centre on Sunday.

And, Claude Julien's players definitely appreciated the support.
"We have the best fans in the world," said assistant captain Paul Byron, who claimed the Fastest Skater event with a blazing lap time of 13.68 seconds. "Even a storm couldn't keep them home. It's incredible to play here and we're lucky every day."

Matthew Peca gave Byron a bit of a scare, though, clocking in at 14.062 seconds. Young gun Victor Mete finished third with a time of 14.175 seconds.
Next up, Tomas Tatar dominated the competition in the Accuracy Shooting event, nailing all four targets on four consecutive shots in just 8.4 seconds.
"It was pretty lucky," cracked Tatar. "We were really nervous about if we were going to hit the targets in front of the fans, but it worked pretty good for me."

Like Byron, the Slovak sniper was grateful for the incredible fan support amidst the steady snowfall and extreme cold that undoubtedly made commuting a nightmare.
"We really appreciate that the fans came with the weather outside," said Tatar. "I woke up in the morning and I looked outside and it looked like a disaster. I wasn't sure if this was going to be happening, but the fans found a way. It was fun. We really enjoyed it."
As expected, captain Shea Weber won the Hardest Shot event with a blast of 103 mph.
Fellow blueliner Jeff Petry, meanwhile, finished second with a 102 mph slap shot that caught everyone's attention.
"It was a really good surprise and a really hard shot," mentioned Tatar, referencing Petry's bomb. "I think he put a lot of pressure on Webby."

After Joel Armia claimed the Long Distance Accuracy Shooting event with eight points, it was fellow Finn Jesperi Kotkaniemi's turn to impress during the shootout with a move that wowed the crowd.
The 18-year-old rookie sensation put the full extent of his puck control skills on display before lighting the lamp.
"It's not so hard," said Kotkaniemi, on the highlight-reel maneuver. "It's actually pretty easy to do. It looks hard, but it's pretty simple."

For his part, Nicolas Deslauriers made the Bell Centre faithful chuckle in unison when he dropped the gloves during his shootout attempt while trying to startle the goaltender.
"It was Gally [Brendan Gallagher] who told me to try that because everyone knows that I don't have too many breakaway moves," joked Deslauriers. "I'm disappointed that he stopped it. I didn't drop my gloves fast enough."