Small act, huge impact

MONTREAL - Children at the Sainte Justine, Children's and Shriners hospitals had some very special visitors, as the Habs made their annual hospital visits on Wednesday.

Once again, an emotion-filled day acted as a ray of sunshine for these very courageous young patients.
Claude Julien's troops spent several hours handing out gifts, signing autographs, and even taking part in some activities while chatting with the kids.
The day was as special for the players as it was for the young people they were visiting.
"It's incredible. When we got in, the smiles from the kids is something you can't buy," shared Tomas Tatar. "I think Youppi! is the biggest star; all the kids were really excited to see him. We're having a good time. I think it's important to be a part of the community, especially around the holidays, I think it'll make everyone happy."
No. 90 was taking part in his first such visit in Montreal as Hab, and was treated to some brownies during his stay.
"I didn't try them, but I'm sure they're delicious," added the Slovak forward with a huge smile. "They put a lot of work into them."
Tatar spent the day touring around the Children's with local boy Jonathan Drouin, another fan favorite.
"It's a really cool thing to do. It's my second year doing it with the Habs. It's touching. Yes, we put smiles [on people's faces], but sometimes you walk in a room and the situations are hard. But we're here for that for a couple of hours during the year. It's easy for us to come in and put smiles," explained Drouin. "Sometimes they're jumping, they're so happy to see you. It's touching to see, and very cool as well."
The hospital visits are an annual tradition that date back more than 50 years in the city.
"As a team and an organization, we're proud to continue being able to help people and today is a day like that," added the Sainte-Agathe native. "We have the chance to chat with the parents too, it's not always easy for them so we're here to give them a smile."
Coming off a tough loss on the road the night before, the hospital visits allow the players to put things in perspective and to forget about hockey - even if only for a few hours.
"We put it completely behind us. We play a sport, it's different when you come to the hospital to see the kids," added Drouin. "You put hockey aside for a bit of time."

Over at Sainte Justine Hospital, Nicolas Deslauriers and Paul Byron were particularly touched by their visits on Wednesday.
The two family men and proud fathers pointed out that the experience allowed them to step back and realize how lucky they have been in life.
"I'm lucky to have three healthy kids. When you come here, you want to bring some energy to those kids. It's an easy thing for us to do, to show up; it's exceptional. I experienced some of this when my second child was born so to come here and give some smiles back is incredible and it reminds us how lucky we are in life," outlined Deslauriers. "You don't need to say much, you just have to show up and it's an automatic smile. You see what the logo means to so many people."
Just like his teammate, Paul Byron took advantage of the opportunity to remind himself of how fortunate he is to also have a healthy family, even if it isn't always easy.
"Sometimes, it's hard to see sick children like this. It makes you appreciate the fact that your family is healthy when you come home. To know that a few minutes of your time can change their day makes perfect sense. It's easy to focus on the negative, but when you realize that your family is healthy that's when everything falls into place," described Byron, a father to a young daughter and son. "I come here to help these patients and then I'll go home and give my kids a big hug and tell myself how lucky I am. I can't imagine as a parent watching your child this way. For me, these kids are heroes."
Oh, how a small act can go a long way, indeed.