Canadiens Children's Foundation unveils outdoor community rink

MONTREAL-- Though winter is still a week away from its official arrival, outdoor hockey weather was ready and waiting for the inauguration of the Montreal Canadiens Children's Foundation's ninth Bleu Blanc Bouge outdoor community rink on Wednesday.
Huguette Richard, the daughter of Canadiens legend Maurice "Rocket" Richard, was among the dignitaries who braved the sunny but cold -- minus-11-degree Celsius (12 degrees Fahrenheit) -- conditions at snow-covered Parc De Mesy in Montreal's Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough.

"The ninth rink was built in part to commemorate the 375th anniversary of Montreal and the National Hockey League's 100th anniversary," Canadiens owner Geoff Molson said. "And aligned with the efforts of the NHL and the NHLPA and club members opportunities to grow the great game of hockey, the project received the generous support of the NHL and the NHLPA Industry Growth Fund in the form of a half-a-million dollar ($500,000) grant. We wish to thank the NHL and the NHLPA for seeing the positive impact the Bleu Blanc Bouge program has had in communities where the rinks are built."
Montreal captain Max Pacioretty and teammates Jonathan Drouin, Nicolas Deslauriers and Daniel Carr took to the ice in their Canadiens sweaters along with a host of neighborhood kids.
"The Montreal Canadiens do a great job to help young people, to support those in need with things like this," Drouin said.
The skate was an opportunity for the Montreal players to get a taste of what awaits them when they face the Ottawa Senators in the 2017 Scotiabank NHL100 Classic at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa on Saturday.
NHL Chief Branding Officer Brian Jennings said that the anniversaries surrounding the rink inauguration offered an opportunity to look forward to the League's future while celebrating its past.
"When you look back at 100 years, a lot of that was through the lens of looking back and celebrating, and rightfully so, the great players, the great moments, the milestones, the teams that made that up," Jennings said. "But as we pivot on Saturday night and close the chapter, if you will, on 100 years and look forward it is very much about the youth. It is about these types of initiatives that are going to cultivate and start a conversation with the next generation of fans."
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Former Philadelphia Flyers goalie Rob Zepp spoke on behalf of the National Hockey League Players' Association.
"We obviously want more and more people to be able to experience our great game and all the things it has to offer," said Zepp, Manager, Special Products for the NHLPA. "So this is one example of that, and I actually have to say the Canadiens have done a good job as well of providing programing on this surface. In the summer months, they'll have ball hockey opportunities for the kids, so it truly will be a year-round endeavor here. So we take a great amount of pride in it and all the work that we've been doing in the partnership with the League through the Industry Growth Fund."
The multipurpose, refrigerated rink features NHL dimensions, as do the previous eight Bleu Blanc Bouge projects. A 10th rink is scheduled to open in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, in January.
"It's a beautiful surface," Zepp said. "It makes me want to lace up my skates and go for a little skate. It kind of takes you back to your time as a kid when you're playing on outdoor rinks and playing pickup with your buddies and your family. So it's a great setting, and if the weather keeps up like today they should get plenty of use out of it."
Molson also expressed his gratitude to Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities, which was named presenting sponsor of the Blue Blanc Bouge program at the start of the 2014-15 NHL season. Its annual contribution of $230,000 helps children in less-privileged areas enjoy the benefits of sports and physical activity in collaboration with the Montreal Canadiens Children's Foundation.
"It's unbelievable to be a part of it, and the foundation does a fantastic job of raising the money so that we can re-invest it back in the community," Molson said. "Each one of them cost close to $1.5 million and we're opening our ninth today and our 10th in January, which gets us close to a $30 million investment in grassroots hockey. And tens of thousands of people annually get to experience hockey, some for the first time. It's an unbelievable privilege to be able to do that.
"I can't wait to find out someday of a story of some young kid who said, 'I put my skates on for the first time at this rink and look at me, I've just been drafted in the NHL.' It would be wonderful to hear stories like that."