Byron, Pageau excited to play NHL100 Classic in hometown

OTTAWA -- Paul Byron didn't want to come off the ice.
Byron, the Montreal Canadiens forward who was born in Ottawa, might as well have been a little kid on his backyard rink, or a teenager skating in the park beside his house, the rink he would eventually be old enough to take care of after his team wrapped up practice Friday.

The Canadiens family skate lingered on for more than an hour and Byron, with his entourage of 11, skated and chatted and soaked in the experience under the stars and snowflakes at Lansdowne Park.
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It was one of those magical, once-in-a-lifetime moments that might only be topped Saturday when Byron plays in the 2017 Scotiabank NHL100 Classic against his hometown Ottawa Senators (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, CBC, TVA Sports, NHL.TV).
"It's been many, many years I played on the outdoor rinks, dreaming of being in the NHL, scoring the overtime goal, winning the Stanley Cup, all that normal stuff," Byron said. "To have the opportunity to play an outdoor game in your hometown is really special."
Byron is one of four Ottawa-area natives who will play in the game. Senators forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau and defenseman Cody Ceci were born in Ottawa. Senators forward Derick Brassard was born across the Ottawa River in Gatineau, Quebec.

Montreal coach Claude Julien was born in Blind River, Ontario and grew up in the Ottawa suburb of Orleans.
They all grew up playing on outdoor rinks and now get to skate or coach in front of an expected crowd of more than 36,000 in what will be a showcase event for their community.
Talk about preparing for a swell of civic pride.
"I think I have over 100 people I know coming, it's going to be pretty exciting," Pageau said. "It's a dream come true for us."
Byron said he estimates at least 20 family and friends will be at the game. More will be watching on television.
Julien said he personally purchased 21 tickets for 17 family members and four friends. He joked that a big chunk of his paycheck was going toward the NHL100 Classic.
"You can't charge your family," Julien said.
Ceci's number was more conservative. He said he knows he has at least 10 family members and close friends coming. One of them will be his mother, Karen Sylvester-Ceci, who built and maintained a backyard rink for her two boys, Cody and Cole, when they were kids.
"She used to go out there with the dog and water it and take really good care of it so we always had a pretty good rink going," Ceci said. "I had a ton of friends come out and we'd always take turns throwing on goalie gear. Eventually, my brother started taking over and throwing on the goalie gear. Now he ended up being a goalie."
Cole Ceci is a goalie for Oshawa in the Ontario Hockey League.
"I think we forced him into that," Ceci said.
Brassard never had to be forced to throw on the extra layers and play outside in Gatineau. He said he honed his skating and puck-handling skills on outdoor rinks.

"When you're in minor hockey you had two or three practices per week outside," Brassard said. "I was just dropping my stuff home from school and I spent a lot of time outside. You can improve a lot as a player. Even if it's 20 against 20, you can improve a lot with your skating and your skill. It for sure helped me."
Brassard played in two outdoor games with the New York Rangers at Yankee Stadium in the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series. He said he felt like he was back home, playing for fun. He expects a similar feeling Saturday.
"The outdoor games, for us now in the NHL, I feel like it's just two teams going at it and you feel like there is no pressure," Brassard said. "It's our team against their team, so let's just play."
That Brassard, Ceci, Pageau, Byron and Julien get to do it in their home city on a Saturday night certainly adds a layer of excitement and anticipation to make the show memorable.
It also represents how far they've come.
"The motivation will be easy to find for this game," Pageau said. "It's what you dream about."