Hockeyville Hub: Saint-Boniface

Ottawa Senators vs. Montreal Canadiens game information

Locale: Colisee Videotron in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec

Time and TV: 7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN1, NHLN

Why we're here: Kraft Hockeyville celebrating Saint-Boniface, Quebec

About Saint-Boniface: Established July 1, 1855, under the name Canton de Shawenegan before taking the name Saint-Boniface after the Germanic apostle and church reformer. The small municipality (population 5,459) in the Mauricie region is 10 minutes west of Shawinigan and about 20 minutes northwest of downtown Trois-Rivieres.

Twentysomethings: The Canadiens and Senators face off nearly 20 years after Montreal defeated Ottawa 7-3 at Colchester Legion Stadium in Truro, Nova Scotia, on Sept. 25, 2006. Hockeyville is back in Quebec for the first time since a 3-2 Canadiens win against the Buffalo Sabres at what is now Centre Sportif Benoit-Levesque in Roberval on Sept. 23, 2008.

Senators at Hockeyville: They're 3-5-0 and have been at every event since 2022 except when the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Sabres 5-2 at Joe Thornton Community Centre in St. Thomas, Ontario, honoring West Lorne on Sept. 27, 2023. Tim Stutzle and Nick Cousins scored in a 5-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at Sudbury Community Arena honoring Elliot Lake, Ontario, on Sept. 29, 2024. Drake Batherson had four points (one goal, three assists) in a 4-2 victory against the Florida Panthers at Centre 200 in Sydney, Nova Scotia, the same rink where he played for Cape Breton of the then-Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 2015-18. His goal 2:45 into OT also gave Ottawa a 3-2 victory against Montreal at J.K. Irving Centre in Bouctouche, New Brunswick (Elsipogtog First Nation) on Oct. 8, 2022.

Storylines: The Senators play the first of five preseason games, including split-squad against the Maple Leafs and Canadiens, before their regular season starts in Toronto on Oct. 3 (7 p.m. ET; SNO, SNP). "I don't expect us to be regular-season sharp, but we've done a lot of work, a lot of talk about our details, the pace of our game," coach Travis Green said. "Obviously, the intensity goes up as you move from training camp to exhibition to regular season." … William Eklund will make his Senators debut. The 23-year-old arrived in a trade from the San Jose Sharks on June 23 and is projected to be on the top line at left wing with center Dylan Cozens and right wing Fabian Zetterlund, his linemate in San Jose.

Sensmanship: Ottawa opens the season with a three-game road trip that includes a back to back at the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 5-6 ahead of its home opener against the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 8. Later this year, it's a trip to Dusseldorf to play the Chicago Blackhawks for the 2026 Global Series Germany at PSD Bank Dome on Dec. 18 and 20. The games will be the second and third ever played in Germany during the regular season. The Sabres defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 at O2 Arena Berlin as part of the Premiere Series on Oct. 8, 2011.

Quotable: "Just seeing all the little kids. When you're younger, it's so cool to see NHL (players) every day and for this community to kind of experience that, I think it's a special time for them. You try to give back to them because I was once that little kid. It's always a cool game that they do here. Hopefully we put a show on for the fans." -- Senators forward Shane Pinto

Canadiens at Hockeyville: They're 3-1-1, last playing in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, a 3-2 overtime loss to the Senators at J.K. Irving Centre on Oct. 8, 2022.

Storylines: The Canadiens arrived after winning home and away split-squad games against the Maple Leafs on Saturday, 4-3 in overtime at Bell Centre and 4-1 at Scotiabank Arena. Defenseman David Reinbacher, the No. 5 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, will likely skate to the right of Lane Hutson, the 2025 Calder Trophy winner voted as NHL Rookie of the Year. "It's nice to get a shot now," Reinbacher said. "It's something you look up to. His compete level is insane. I can't wait to play with him."

Habbenings: Montreal starts the regular season in Toronto on Sept. 29 (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN), a game that could be the NHL regular-season debut of Maple Leafs forward Gavin McKenna, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. This will be the 24th mutual season-opening game between the Canadiens and Maple Leafs, including their seventh in as many seasons since 2020-21. Montreal will also play the Winnipeg Jets in the 2026 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg on Oct. 25, the first of three outdoor games this season.

Quotable: "You can change somebody's day. They've looked forward to this for a long time, so just to be here and embrace it with them is a pretty cool feeling. There are so many people that support us. We are very thankful to have people from all over Quebec support us. It's times like these that you get reminded how special it is to be a Canadien." -- Cole Caufield

Projected lineups

Senators

William Eklund -- Dylan Cozens -- Fabian Zetterlund

Andre Burakovsky -- Stephen Halliday -- Drake Batherson

Nick Cousins -- Shane Pinto -- Michael Amadio

Hayden Hodgson -- Ridly Greig -- Sammy Blais

Jake Sanderson -- Samuel Bolduc

Tyler Kleven -- Carter Yakemchuk

Jordan Spence -- Ben Hutton

Nikolas Matinpalo -- Djibril Toure

Samuel Ersson

Leevi Merilainen

Jackson Parsons

Canadiens

Cole Caufield -- Nick Suzuki -- Alex Newhook

Juraj Slafkovsky -- Oliver Kapanen -- Ivan Demidov

Zachary Bolduc -- Kirby Dach -- Alexandre Texier

Brett Berard -- Florian Xhekaj -- Sasha Pastujov

Lane Hutson -- David Reinbacher

Adam Engstrom -- Noah Dobson

Jayden Struble -- Arber Xhekaj

Samuel Montembeault

Jakub Dobes

Monday

'Legacy'

The crowd outside Colisee Videotron reached overflow minutes ahead of the Canadiens' arrival around 9:45 a.m. ET. Trois-Riveries is between 90-120 minutes from Montreal with Canadiens pride stretching from the big city, suburbs, small-town Saint-Boniface and all points throughout Quebec. 

These fans -- kids armed with cards, sticks, jerseys and homemade posters -- made enough noise to awake the whole province. They were in awe and so were the players, each taken back to when they camped out to meet their heroes and dared to dream big.

"There was hundreds of people out there, all waiting for us, and it was a pleasure for us to be there, sign some items for them and make their day unforgettable," said Canadiens forward Zachary Bolduc, a native of Trois-Rivieres. "I grew up as a fan, and I grew up as a little boy who wanted a puck, and wanted a stick. Now I have the opportunity to give back to the younger guys and make their dreams (come true). I'm lucky to have that to have that opportunity."

Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis has done Hockeyville before, two games in three nights against the Senators in Newfoundland and Labrador and Bouctouche, New Brunswick in 2022. So has Drake Batherson, and the Ottawa forward arrived in Trois-Rivieres with history on his side. 

Batherson, among the first Senators to step off their first bus at 8 a.m., scored 2:45 into overtime to give Ottawa a 3-2 win against Montreal at J.K. Irving Centre in Bouctouche to honor 2021 winner Elispogtog, First Nation on Oct. 8, 2022. The next year he had four points (one goal, three assists) in a 4-2 victory against the Florida Panthers at Centre 200 in Sydney, Nova Scotia, on Oct. 1, 2023, where he played for Cape Breton of the then-Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 2015-18. 

Hockeyville hasn't aged for St. Louis, born 90 minutes away in Laval, or Batherson, a Fort Wayne, Indiana, native raised in New Minas in the Annapolis Valley region of western Nova Scotia.

"They're awesome events," Batherson said. "I've been lucky to play some games close to home. It's fun seeing the kids who never get a chance to see an NHL game live right in front of them in their hometown. I come from a small town and know how much it means to these kids to see us, especially Montreal. There's a lot of Habs jerseys out there today. I can't wait to play."

Standing halfway down the figurative red carpet wearing a red, Canadiens sweater of P.K. Subban was Sandrine Pelletier, a Saint-Boniface resident who played youth hockey as a forward and is from a family of players. Those who live in the community, surrounding areas and throughout Quebec share a doctrine that hockey is religion and a way of life. 

"If you're part of a family, you have to love hockey," Pelletier said. "It's just part of us."

Renovations to Arena de Saint-Boniface have gone into overdrive since the city council adopted a Memorandum of Understanding on May 21 for a total budget of $7.2 million toward the project including the Hockeyville grand prize.

"We have to help maintain to be able to have good players in the NHL or in the PWHL," Pelletier said. "We need to have those players, so we need to have good hockey rinks. Whatever happens with the renovation, everybody's going to help maintain it. There's a lot of people who worked on Hockeyville on making sure that we won this, and I know that they're going to do a great job at helping maintain it, and the whole community is grateful for it."

Sylvain Bouchard, a community emcee throughout the week, built excitement with chants of "Ole!" and running off names of Canadiens favorites. He allowed himself a moment to pause and take in the fruits of their labor after nearly 18 months of waiting. Wearing the same the warm smile used to educate children and community about his culture and the spirit of Hockeyville, he wondered how the day could get any better. 

Actually, it did. Jean-Sebastien Descoteaux, a volunteer member of the local organizing committee in charge of communications, has worked endlessly to handle ticketing, set up for events and handle media requests. One very well-spoken was left with no words other than, "Everybody's happy." Bouchard, loquacious through storytelling, put what Hockeyville has left Saint-Boniface with one:

"Legacy."

Sunday

Roberval Remembers

Hockeyville was a victory for Saint-Boniface and all of Quebec, which welcomed this once-in-a-lifetime experience back to the province for the first time since the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 at Benoit-Levesque Arena in Roberval on Sept. 23, 2008.

A group from Roberval wearing their blue and white Hockeyville sweaters traveled three hours south to celebrate the return to Quebec. Speaking on their behalf was Alexandre Morin, president of Village on Ice, an attraction that features hundreds of huts settled on the ice of Lake Saint-Jean.

Saint-Boniface winning Hockeyville took a village, army, an entire province. Citizens of Roberval spread the word throughout their town through Village on Ice, social media, and TV and radio interviews while giving advice on how to prepare for that final push.

"You need every town, every neighbor, everyone to participate," Morin said. "Quebec is what it is. And Roberval, I can say for sure that a lot of people voted for this moment to make sure that they win."

The NHL came and left Roberval 18 years ago, but Hockeyville is theirs. Saint-Boniface will own that feeling long after the League returns home, when plans begin to honor Taber, Alberta, and KHV20 next fall, even after the ceremonial handoff of the trophy.

"The city is really proud of it, and still proud of it," Morin said. "We still have this arena. We still are the winners, and we will always be. It's like winning the Stanley Cup. It's not something that you can remove from someone. It belongs to us. It's something that you cannot buy."

Celebration Day

Colisee Videotron is preparing for Monday and the arrival of the Senators and Canadiens.

For the Senators, it will be their preseason debut. The Canadiens head to Trois-Rivieres coming off 4-3 and 4-1 split-squad wins against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Montreal and Toronto on Saturday.

Cole Caufield scored with 38 seconds left in overtime and Chris Kreider was held without a point in his Canadiens debut at Bell Centre in Montreal. Phillip Danault scored twice in the Maple Leafs debut of Gavin McKenna, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Sam Montembeault, a native of Becancour, Quebec, competing for a roster spot with the Canadiens planning not to carry three goalies, stopped all 13 shots he faced.

Saint-Boniface will celebrate Hockeyville today beginning at 11 a.m. ET with the NHLPA Goals & Dreams on-ice clinic inside Arena de Saint-Boniface, followed by a barbeque, photos with the Stanley Cup, ball hockey, Kraft-sponsored sampling and contests, and a meet-and-greet with retired NHL goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.​

"Flower" was born in Sorel, about an hour from Saint-Boniface, and is second in NHL history in wins (575), games played (1,051) and time on ice (60,669:03) behind Martin Brodeur, and third in saves (27,188) trailing Brodeur (28,928) and Roberto Luongo (28,409). He played four seasons for Cape Breton in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 2000-04, was the No. 1 pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2003 NHL Draft and is a two-time silver medalist for Canada at the 2003 and 2004 IIHF World Junior Championship, where in 2003 he was named tournament MVP and top goalie after going 4-1-1 with a 1.57 goals-against average, .928 save percentage and one shutout.

Fleury's Nov. 29 was retired by Cape Breton on Jan. 25, 2008. He won the Stanley Cup three times with Pittsburgh (2009, 2016, 2017) and entered the Penguins Hall of Fame on Aug. 20 and the QMJHL Hall of Fame with the Class of 2026 on Sept. 17.

The image above was from a 2000 visit to Saint-Boniface. He returns as an ambassador (with Paul Bissonnette) to the 20th anniversary year of Hockeyville, won by Taber, Alberta, to be celebrated next fall.

Goals & Dreams

Greg Schell is entering his 26th year with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment after he was appointed a youth and amateur hockey development coach by team president Ken Dryden in 2000. He was on the ice with local kids participating in the NHL Players Association Goals & Dreams Clinic inside Arena de Saint-Boniface. Boys and girls were split into groups of red and white, the NHLPA Goals & Dreams logo on the front and on the back No. 26 to represent this year.

Schell, a former defenseman for Toronto in the Metropolitan Toronto Hockey League that's since become the Greater Toronto Hockey League, and other coaches led skating and individual drills. Every child received a backpack and as a collective group had a photo taken with the Stanley Cup. Outside the arena awaited a meet-and-greet with Marc-Andre Fleury during the community celebration.

"My background is a deep passion and a desire to teach the greatest subject of all, and it's called hockey," he said. "Some of my teachers were people like, say, Mathieu Schneider when he played for the Leafs, Ken Dryden when he worked for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Mats Sundin (hired as senior executive adviser, hockey operations of the Maple Leafs on May 3), who's back and working with people that are really close to our organization in and out of hockey.

"One might say the last word in the NHLPA Goals & Dreams name is it all starts with a dream. So, here we are, trying to help dreams come true for these boys and girls who play the game that we all love."

The NHLPA continues to play a major role supporting Kraft Hockeyville and teamed with the NHL Industry Growth Fund to donate $10,000 in new hockey equipment to Saint-Boniface. Regardless of how far a kid goes in his playing career, the messaging is the same -- values, teamwork, sportsmanship and other lessons they can apply to everyday life.

"That's a big deal," Schell said.

Saturday

Impact players

We're staying in beautiful Trois-Rivieres, or Three Rivers in English, the name taken from an optical illusion that splits the Saint-Maurice River into three channels when it meets the St. Lawrence River. Harbourfront Park, a three-level walking area with unobstructed views of the harbor and the Laviolette Bridge, is especially stunning. The Trois-Rivieres Lions, the Canadiens' ECHL affiliate, compete at Colisee Videotron to entertain residents and tourists while pleasant autumn afternoons transition into weather that's a tad colder.

Today is an off day for Hockeyville activity and less than 24 hours from a community celebration beginning with an NHLPA Goals & Dreams on-ice clinic at Arena de Saint-Boniface, which provides an opportunity to reintroduce a few impact players responsible for helping win Hockeyville and spread the word around town. 

-- Stephane Lajoie, principal of Ecole primaire Sainte-Marie (ages 5-12), and educational consultant for Shawinigan of the then-Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, where from 2010-20 he worked with future NHL players including Anthony Beauvillier, Michael Bournival, Frederick Gaudreau and Samuel Girard. 

-- Sylvain Bouchard, emcee of the Stanley Cup tour through town. His wife, Nathalie Bourbonnais is a figure skating coach. The couple relocated here with their family from Montreal in 2000 after learning about a dissembled arena shipped 14 hours away from Raddison, Quebec, being rebuilt by Saint-Boniface to call their own.

"My background is a lot about history," Bouchard said. "I'm totally in love with my culture, with my ancestors, so for me, (every) part of the story is so important. I want to make sure that everybody understands what it really means."

-- Louis-Philippe Beaudoin and his part-time volunteer firefighter colleagues granted a photo opportunity with the Stanley Cup and Canadiens mascot Youppi! to honor their service.

"It took a lot of work, a lot of convincing people that this is a fun project for everyone," Beaudoin said. "Not just for minor hockey, for the whole city that's going to take advantage of the new installations that we're going to have out of this."

-- Sophie Milette, owner of Portes Milette, a custom door manufacturing company that's the largest industry in Saint-Boniface and founded by her father, Gerard, in 1967. The youngest of five children and her husband, Stephane Diamond, purchased the company April 12, 2010. They supervise the 150 employees who were gifted their time with the Cup thanks to her frequent donations supporting community endeavors.

-- Martin Gervais, grandson of Rejean Gervais, one of the original 10 builders of Arena de Saint-Boniface. Martin -- like his customers inside L'Intermarche supermarket co-owned with his grandmother, Normande, -- was surprised when the Cup and Youppi! walked through their doors.

Putting everything together is Jean-Sebastien Descoteaux, a member of the local organizing committee in charge of communications, and Arena de Saint-Boniface general manager Natacha Pilotte. Descoteaux was especially popular during the Cup tour having to frequently pause conversations to take calls from reporters to talk Hockeyville. He and the rest of the LOC are finalizing ticket distributions for the preseason game. They finally get to take a breath and harvest the rewards Sunday.

Friday

Recognition

Louis-Philippe Beaudoin is a part-time volunteer firefighter in Saint-Boniface after living in Ontario, Mississauga and Hamilton among others, for 20 years. Beaudoin, his colleagues and their families were honored for their service with a visit from the Stanley Cup and Canadiens mascot Youppi! 

Safe to say, two years of planning, marketing  and rallying to win Hockeyville — and having to wait 17 months for their moment— was worth it.

And then some.

"We're taking this in, in a great way because it's recognition, and recognition is always fun," Beaudoin said. "Just like the city is getting recognized for their efforts for the Stanley Cup. We're a hockey city and we've had a great program for years for the fact that we got nominated for this and went all the way through, and the community came together. That's what we're about.

"We're happy to serve them. We're getting recognized, the city's getting recognized and we get to celebrate together. That's what we're happy about."

Expectations for the Canadiens this season are high yet tempered inside their locker room. Try explaining that to Beaudoin and the residents of Saint-Boniface who will give the Canadiens a decided home-ice advantage against the Senators on Monday. They're a preseason Stanley Cup contender. Beaudion is aiming higher.

"We're aiming for a 110-game season," he said. "Eighty-four plus whatever we need. Minimum 16."

The Canadiens appear to have the right management team, coach and core in place, enough for Beaudoin to issue a guarantee starting Monday. 

"We can't wait for that win," he said "Write it down. We're also the hottest team in the NHL right now. Might be just my opinion, but I believe we are. So, for this to happen in Quebec this year also has that little extra something. A little extra spice, so we're all happy to see all the players."

Small towns and big dreams

Across the street from my current locale is Colisee Videotron in Trois-Rivieres, a city that Tourisme Mauricie writes is named Three Rivers in English from an optical illusion when the Saint-Maurice River splits into three channels as it meets the St. Lawrence River between Ile de la Poterie (Pottery Island) and Ile Saint-Quentin (Saint-Quentin Island). 

Born here was Canadiens forward Zachary Bolduc on Feb. 24, 2003. He was a first-round pick (No. 17) by the St. Louis Blues in 2021 NHL Draft, traded to Montreal on July 1, 2025, and signed a four-year, $16.8 million contract (average annual value of $4.2 million) with the Canadiens on Sept. 13 as a restricted free agent. Bolduc had consecutive 50-goal seasons (55 and 50) with Quebec in what's now the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League playing for Ramparts coach and Montreal legend Patrick Roy from 2021-23 and won the 2023 Memorial Cup. His goal at 10:43 of the second period was the game-winner in a 6-2 victory against the Buffalo Sabres in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Bell Centre.

Born about two hours away in L'Islet, Quebec, is Xavier Bourgault, a 23-year-old Senators forward signed to a one-year, two-way contract July 9. He played junior hockey 10 minutes from Saint-Boniface in Shawinigan and made his NHL debut in Ottawa's 7-5 loss at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 27. He had his best season as a pro in 2025-26, with 57 points (25 goals, 32 assists) in 70 games for Belleville while skating on the top line with Arthur Kaliyev, whose 40 goals led the American Hockey League.

"I think it's always fun going back there," Bourgault said Thursday from Senators training camp. "I know it's a smaller community, but I think there are big hockey fans down there, so I'm excited for that. The fans are really close to the players and it's like a smaller family there. I really had a good time there."

Today is a visit to Saint-Boniface, the Hockeyville-winning community about 20 minutes northwest of Colisee Videotron and in store for a few surprises. 

-- With Zoe Pierce

Thursday

Bienvenue a nouveau, Hockeyville

"Imagination is the beginning of creation." -- George Bernard Shaw

Hockeyville is back after a one-year hiatus. The locals of Saint-Boniface considered it a blessing that gave them more time to prepare for what awaits. Their story is that of working-class people who do hard work with pride, their arena purchased for $1, dissembled and shipped 14 hours south from Radisson, Quebec, for a group of volunteers to rebuild.

From imagination grew the spark, then the decision to create, act and later bid to win Hockeyville. The result was a grand prize of $250,000 that helped grow a budget of $7.2 million to renovate Arena de Saint-Boniface.

Everything about Hockeyville -- the community celebration, the red carpet, the preseason game, and a few surprises along the way -- they're here.

"We can't wait to watch their highs when they will meet their idols and they will watch the game there, so it's going to be another great moment," said Jean-Sebastien Descoteaux, a member of the Saint-Boniface local organizing committee in charge of communications.

What I've learned about Saint-Boniface:

-- The official municipal history says it was erected July 1, 1855, under the name Canton de Shawenegan. The parish later took the name Saint-Boniface, after the Germanic apostle and church reformer.

-- It's a prominently French-speaking community promoted by Come Explore Canada Travel and Tourism as a practical village-and-countryside stop where forest history, farming, local sports facilities and Heritage Carcajou Park shape a visit.

-- Nearly equidistant between Montreal and Quebec City, and about 20 minutes to Trois-Rivieres and Colisee Videotron.

-- Two hours and change from Bell Centre, the home of the Canadiens.

Our last visit

Outside Sudbury Community Arena on Sept. 29, 2024, hundreds of kids and their parents chanted Sidney Crosby's name for at least a half-hour before the Pittsburgh Penguins were scheduled to walk the red carpet. Two hours west, we visited Elliot Lake, Ontario, home to nature, landscapes and landmarks that the locals call, "Our Jewel in the Wilderness."

Crosby scored the first of his two goals at 8:55 of the first period in a 5-2 victory against the Senators.

"When he comes to Canada, it's like the Beatles," then-Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.

The Hockeyville grand prize and other donations raised $952,787 to help Elliot Lake restore Centennial Arena and city councilors on Sept. 23, 2025, voted unanimously to spend another $11.6 million in repairs to what's now Rogers Arena. 

Building architect Chris Perry presented to the Elliot Lake City Council on Sept. 14. A new scoreboard was delivered and installed that day and icemaking continues, which with interior metal siding is expected to be ready Monday. The Elliot Lake Vikings of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League were in their space Sept 4 as part of a soft occupancy and are scheduled to play their home opener against the Espanola Paper Kings on Sept. 25.

Amanda McKay, a chair of the Elliot Lake Local Organizing Committee, will be in Trois-Rivieres on Monday for the ceremonial handoff of the Hockeyville trophy.

"Life is good in Elliot Lake," McKay said in an email. "The excitement, of course, is mounting. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and being a part of this celebration for Saint-Boniface."

Hockeyville has returned. Allons travailler. (Let's go to work.)