http://www.canadiens.comRSS Feed from the Canadien's centinnial websiteen-caWed, 16 May 2012 16:59:28 -0400Wed, 16 May 2012 16:59:28 -040030Copyright/rss/http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/static/admin/images/logo.pnghttp://ourhistory.canadiens.com163122 http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Where-Are-They-Now-Gilbert-Dionn http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Where-Are-They-Now-Gilbert-Dionn Mon, 23 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400
Where do you live now?
For the past seven years I’ve been living in Tavistock, Ontario. I wanted to settle down close to my wife’s family.     

What are you doing now?
I work in the agriculture field at Parrish and Heimbecker. I oversee the trades between Quebec and Ontario producers. I didn’t know much about the industry, but the opportunity came up and I decided to take the challenge.

How many times per year do you lace up the skates?
A lot! Over the years, I would take part in a dozen of alumni games annually. This year I’ll try and participate even more because I love touring the province with them. I’ll try the best I can to do so because I’m not getting any younger and it’s getting more and more demanding physically! (laughs)

Are you still in touch with any former teammates?
I get along with guys like Patrice Brisebois, Karl Dykhuis, Stéphane Richer, Vincent Damphousse and Claude Lemieux. We talk more often during winter when we’re looking to get some players over to play in Ontario.

How many Canadiens games do you watch per year?
It’s hard for me to catch Canadiens games on television as I live in Ontario, but I can follow them when they play against the Maple Leafs. I do watch a few NHL games at home with friends.

When was the last time you were in Montreal to watch a game?
I was last year during the playoffs. I do have season tickets so I’ll come and watch a few games in Montreal. I give out the rest of my tickets to organizations so people who couldn’t normally go to the Bell Centre have a chance to do so.

Who is your favorite player on the current roster?
I like the group of veterans on the team, but P.K. Subban and Carey Price have become indispensable players that give the team a chance to win every night. I identify with P.K. the most because, as it was the case with me when I started in the NHL, he’s known ups and downs but he always comes back on top.

What is your favorite piece of Canadiens memorabilia that you own?
I’ve kept sticks and jerseys, but the one that stands out the most is my Stanley cup ring. I’m not the type to keep it locked away somewhere. I’m very proud to show it off to the fans I meet at softball games or golf tournaments. ]]> Players http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Pimp-My-Ride http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Pimp-My-Ride Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400
You never forget the feeling of winning a championship, but after helping the Habs win a 24th Stanley Cup in 1993, Paul DiPietro wanted to ensure he had some special souvenirs to make his recollections of that moment last forever. Always ready to help out a teammate, Bellows and fellow prankster Mike Keane gave the third-year forward a celebration to remember.

“I was sitting in my car with Keaner close to the Forum and we noticed Pauly had parked his car just outside the boutique,” recalled Bellows, who had just finished his rookie season with the Habs that spring. “For some reason, he left his car running when he went into the store to pick up some souvenirs from the Cup Final.”

Never one to miss a golden opportunity, Keane slipped out of Bellows’ car and swiftly made his way into DiPietro’s driver’s seat. Too busy sorting through commemorative memorabilia to notice, DiPietro was none the wiser as his assistant captain took off around the block.

“As soon as Pauly left the store, Mike came walking back to the scene of the crime and acted like nothing had happened,” recalled Bellows with a laugh. “I was just there watching the whole thing unfold from my car.

“He realized pretty fast that his car wasn’t where he had left it. Paul was running around up and down Sainte-Catherine street looking for it,” added Bellows, who notched 15 points that postseason. “He was convinced he was going to catch up to the ‘perp’ who had stolen his car.”

Despite his best efforts, the Sault-Ste-Marie, ON, native knew that finding his stolen ride in downtown Montreal would be like finding a needle in a haystack. While Bellows and Keane enjoyed seeing their teammate sweat, they couldn’t keep their carjacking a secret for very long.

“I literally exploded with laughter watching Pauly run around looking for his car. I couldn’t hold it in,” recounted Bellows, still chuckling about the incident 18 years later. “Even Mike finally cracked. He was there the whole time watching him freak out and a few minutes later, he finally tossed Pauly the keys and told him where the car was. I’m guessing DiPietro started locking his doors after that!”]]> Players http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Luck-Of-The-Draw http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Luck-Of-The-Draw Wed, 28 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400
No time of year is more intense for a hockey player than the NHL playoffs. Simply making it to the postseason itself is hardly a guarantee.

In just his second year in the league, Dionne learned quickly that when it comes to hockey’s second season, every detail matters.

“My stall at the Forum was right between Patrick Roy and Guy Carbonneau back then. The dressing room was pretty small, so you didn’t really have a ton of space to get ready,” described Dionne of the close quarters he shared with his All-Star teammates.

“I was still on the ice for the warmup before one of our games in the conference finals against the Islanders,” he recalled. “Patrick had already gone to the dressing room and carefully placed his mask, blocker and trapper on the floor in front of him.”

Having spent his share of time next to Roy in the room, the 22-year-old winger was well aware of the future Hall-of-Famer’s keen attention to detail. And with a five-game overtime winning streak to maintain, Dionne had no intention of messing with the star netminder’s preparation.

“When I came into the room, I lightly and accidentally grazed his glove as I was walking to my stall,” shared Dionne with a chuckle.

A stickler for routine, noticing his equipment wasn’t exactly as he had left it, Roy did what any rational NHL netminder would do: he made his teammates go back on the ice so he could re-start his ritual from the beginning.

“Patrick just looked at me and said ‘Get back out there’. So that’s exactly what I did,” he laughed.

Never one to question an order from his elders, the Drummondville native snapped to action, replacing Roy’s trapper to its original position before making his way out of the room as instructed.

“Even though I was the one who was at fault, all the other guys who were on their way to the dressing room had to turn around, too,” cracked Dionne, who helped lead the Habs to a league-record 10 straight overtime wins that spring. “A few minutes later, Patrick came to see me, gave me a wink and said, ‘Ok, I’m ready. You can come back now.’

“We were all a little superstitious, but we had a good time with it and we all got along really well,” he added. “The funny thing was, the biggest superstition of all was one we just ignored completely; we had no problem at all touching the Prince of Wales Trophy after we won the conference finals. It worked out, though – we won the Cup a few weeks later!”]]> Players http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Playing-Through-Traffic http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Playing-Through-Traffic Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500
The idea of hitting the ice alongside hockey legends like Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson and Bob Gainey would be intimidating enough for any young Habs player. But as Ludwig headed to the rink to make his Canadiens debut in September 1982, he had a few other things to worry about first.

“I was taking part in my first NHL training camp with the Canadiens and I was already really nervous,” recalled Ludwig. “Then, while I was driving to the Forum for my first-ever preseason game, I got in a car accident around the corner from the rink.

“The other guy ran a red light and T-boned me and I was thrown clear through the passenger side window,” he described. “Next thing I know, I’m lying right in the middle of Atwater street.”

Ambulances arrived on the scene to find the 21-year-old Habs defenseman picking pieces of glass out of his freshly-pressed suit. A shot-blocking specialist throughout his career, Ludwig wasn’t about to let a few bumps and bruises keep him from his teammates. The paramedics urged Ludwig to come with them to the hospital for more testing, but the rookie blue-liner convinced them to drop him off down the block for an important detour first.

“I finally made it to the Forum and the first person I ran into was Gaetan Lefebvre,” explained Ludwig, who went on to play eight seasons in Montreal. “He looked at me standing there, covered in blood, and was just like, ‘What the heck happened to you?’ After explaining the situation to him, he hustled me into the dressing room to get ready.”

Arriving at his stall at 6:00 p.m. for the 7:00 p.m. game, Ludwig hurried to suit up before anyone noticed his tardiness. Unfortunately for the rookie defenseman, someone else was strolling through the hallway at the exact same time.

“Bob Berry was the coach at the time and he saw me come rushing in. He just looked down at his watch then back up at me,” recalled Ludwig with a chuckle. “I thought I was going to be benched, for sure. Bob just laughed and said, ‘Better hurry up, kid – warmup is about to start.’ That was definitely an interesting welcome to the NHL!”]]> Players http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Where-Are-They-Now-Brian-Bellows http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Where-Are-They-Now-Brian-Bellows Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500
Where do you live now?

I currently live in Edina, Minnesota. It’s where I started my NHL career and we kept the house when I was traded to Montreal. We used to come back here during the summer break.

What are you doing now?

I’m a broker at Piper Jaffray – an investment bank in Minneapolis. I took summer classes when I was a player to get my diploma in finance.

How many times per year do you lace up the skates?

Occasionally. I head a Bantam team in my city and it keeps me pretty busy. I also play a dozen games a year with the North Stars alumni.

Are you still in touch with any former teammates?

I keep in pretty close touch with Kirk Muller and Mike Keane.

How many Canadiens games do you watch per year?

Between my hockey team and working at the bank I’m pretty busy, but I try and catch as many NHL games as possible.

When was the last time you were in Montreal to watch a game?

I come by the Bell Centre at least once a year. I usually rent a suite and invite a couple of clients to a game.

Is there a game in particular from your career with the Canadiens that stands out the most?

Probably my first two pre-season games with the Habs when we played the Blackhawks in London, back in September 1992. I had just joined the organization and what stood out the most for me was how disciplined the team was. I really liked that style of play and the fact that we were in the UK just made it all the better.

What is your favorite piece of Canadiens memorabilia that you own?

I’ve kept a few items, but what I cherish the most from my time in Montreal is a picture that I have in my office. I had just gotten married and my teammates had given us money to buy a gift. We were walking around the Old Port in Montreal and we had an artist paint us a picture of all our favorite moments in Quebec. Every time I look at it I get flooded by memories.

Where do you keep your Stanley Cup ring?

I still have my ring but I don’t wear it often. I’ll wear it when I catch a game at the Bell Centre or when I need to attend a special event. ]]> Players http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Hard-Headed http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Hard-Headed Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0500
“I got my first concussion when I was 22 years old. We were playing in L.A. and I got into a fight with Ken Baumgartner, who was a pretty tough guy,” explained the 12-year NHL veteran-turned Habs radio commentator. “I thought I was doing pretty well for myself but he caught me with a really hard right hook and we both fell down. We skate over to the box and as I’m sitting in there, I kind of realized something was wrong.”

Momesso’s suspicions were quickly confirmed when he was joined in the box by Czech blue-liner Petr Svoboda, who didn’t need a medical degree – or even a full grasp of the English language – to know something was wrong with the head of his bruising teammate.

“Petr gets a penalty so he comes in and slams the door and is all mad about the call. So now I’m there confused and concussed next to Petr who barely speaks a word of English,” cracked Momesso of Svoboda, who remains the highest European player ever drafted by the Canadiens. “I look over at him and ask ‘Hey Pete, what’s the score?’

“The scoreboard is huge and it’s literally right in front of us. He looks at me and goes ‘What do you mean, man? It’s 5-2’,” laughed Momesso, who spent three seasons with Svoboda in Montreal. “He’s all annoyed and then like 15 seconds later, I turn back to him and ask, ‘Hey Pete, 5-2 for who?’ Now he’s really getting mad and busting out all his English swear words and goes ‘What do you mean, man? We lose 5-2!’ so I’m like, ‘Ohhhhh… that’s why he’s so mad – we’re losing.’”

Unfazed by Svoboda’s waning patience, Momesso decided to push his luck with one final, burning question for his fellow Stanley Cup-winning teammate.

“There’s maybe 10 seconds left in his penalty and I just look at him and go, ‘Last thing Pete – where are we?’” recalled the Montreal native. “He’s just freaking out now and goes ‘What do you mean, man? We in Los Angeles!’ All I could think was, ‘Awesome! I love L.A.!’”]]> Players http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Love-For-Eddy http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Love-For-Eddy Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500 Players http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Train-Games http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Train-Games Thu, 10 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500
While on a trip to New York during the 1960s, a few of the more mischievous members of the Canadiens stumbled across a practical joke shop while walking the streets of the Big Apple. After disappearing inside for a couple of minutes, they emerged with a healthy supply of itching and sneezing powder – the perfect entertainment for the journey home.

The setup was simple: while making his way through one of the cars, a player would pretend to lose his balance and stumble. In the process, he would use the distraction to sprinkle a little itching and sneezing powder on whichever unlucky soul happened to be nearby. “We would wait a few minutes to give the powders some time to take effect and then we’d take a stroll back through the same section of the train,” recalled Habs’ former forward, Gilles Tremblay.

During their second pass through the car, they could then enjoy their handiwork and observe the confused passengers as they suddenly found themselves overcome with fits of sneezing and scratching.

After a few rounds of successfully executing their plan at the expense of the train’s passengers, the group decided it was time to set their sights on bigger game. They eventually settled on targeting the Habs’ well-liked head-coach, Toe Blake and by proximity, the team doctor who happened to be sharing his compartment.

“We managed to pour the sneezing powder under the door and through the keyhole of Toe Blake’s compartment,” explained Tremblay. “To be honest with you, we really went for broke and used everything we had left.”

Too promising to walk away from, Tremblay and his cohorts stayed as close by as they could to witness the results.

“We crouched behind the door and listened to them sneeze non-stop for a good two hours. We even heard the doctor tell Blake, ‘Hey coach, we should probably take some aspirin. I think there’s a flu bug running loose on this train,’” confessed Tremblay, who still couldn’t help grinning about the incident so many years later.

***
SEE ALSO
Give it away now
Salt in the wounds
Size does matter
Dressed for success
Up against the wall
Helmets are a player's best friend
Dude, where's my car?]]> Players http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Blood-Brothers http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Blood-Brothers Thu, 28 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0400
Since the birth of the Canadiens organization, 12 sets of brothers have skated together for the team. The first dynamic duo to lay stake to that claim was made up of brothers Georges and Pierre Vézina back in 1911-12. While George’s stint manning the Canadiens’ crease spanned 14 full seasons with the club, brother Pierre hit the ice for only a single game with the Habs. While that’s often how things go when it comes to brothers playing together, there have also been a number of exceptions over the course of the last 100 years.

The 1920s were a particularly prolific decade when it came to famous family members skating for the Habs. In 1924-25, out of the 13 players on the Canadiens’ roster, two sets of brothers – Odie and Sprague Cleghorn and Aurèle and Robert Joliat – managed to play together during a single game. While Robert Joliat played just one game, the Cleghorn brothers remained on the team together for four whole seasons. During the Habs’ 1921-22 campaign, Odie and Sprague ranked first and second in points out of all players on the roster. The 20s also introduced Habs fans to Sylvio Mantha and sibling Georges who came to join him in 1928-29. The two would form a defensive pairing for the Canadiens in their 1929-30 campaign.

It would take 10 more years before another pair of brothers would enter the Canadiens’ ranks. After one year with the Boston Bruins, Terry Reardon would head to Montreal to join his bother Ken as part of the Habs’s 1941-42 season. After a stretch of 46 games spread out over two seasons with the club, Terry would make his way back to Beantown while Ken joined the army to fight on the frontlines. He would continue his career with the Canadiens after the war, winning a Stanley Cup with the club in 1945-46.

Legendary

In the 1950s, Montreal was introduced to the most important pair of family members to ever play for the Canadiens in brothers Maurice and Henri Richard. Together, the duo have an accumulated haul of 19 Stanley Cup rings – all with the Canadiens – and dressed for 2547 regular-season and playoff games in Canadiens’ uniforms. They both played integral roles in the shaping of the team’s history and both have their jersey’s currently hanging from the Bell Centre rafters.

Little “M”, Big”M”

The 1970s marked the era of the Mahovlich brothers, Frank and Peter, who saw their names etched together on the Stanley Cup on two separate occasions – the first in 1970-71 and the second in 1972-73. During the regular season in 1973, Frank ranked second among his teammates in scoring, with 93 points, and his brother fourth with a haul of 59. By the end of their 1973 cup win, they had tallied 36 points together in 17 games played.

The brotherly duos that would follow the Mahovlichs would only have the chance to play together for a very short time. Larry Robinson, for instance, would play only one game in the company of his brother Moe in 1979-80. It was the same story in 1988-89 when Jocelyn Lemieux would skate with his brother Claude for a single, fleeting game. They would get a better crack at some ice time together the following year when the two were reunited to play just over 30 games together. Jocelyn was eventually traded to the Chicago Blackhawks that same season, while Claude would finish out the year in Montreal before being traded to the New Jersey Devils.

It was a similar case for Stéphan and Patrick Lebeau during the 1990-91 season when Patrick played only two games in Montreal, spending the majority of the season with the Fredricton Canadiens. Despite only having a few NHL games under his belt he recorded a goal and an assists during those games.

The last duo from recent years was lucky enough to enjoy a little more time together as part of the organization. The Kostitsyn brothers were reunited in Montreal in 2007-08 where they played the majority of the season together, with Sergei also having a short stint with the Hamilton Bulldogs. In 52 games with the Canadiens that year, the young Kostitsyn amassed a total of 27 points. Andrei, who then was playing his first full season with the Habs, put up 53 points, ranking him sixth among the team’s leading scorers. From 2008-10 the brothers continued to play together in Montreal before Sergei was traded to the Nashville Predators on June 29, 2010.

SEE ALSO - VIDEOS
Famous Brothers - Sedin
Famous Brothers - Niedermayer
Famous Brothers - Lundqvist
Famous Brothers - Staal
Famous Brothers - Miller
Famous Brothers - Bure]]> Players http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Mother-Russia http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Mother-Russia Fri, 08 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0400
“One of the coolest experiences I had with the Canadiens was our trip to Russia during training camp,” described Ewen, whose team headed to Moscow and Riga to take on the best the Soviets had to offer that fall. “It was a very different world than we were used to.  From the second we arrived, we had our own private security detail of KGB guys following us around everywhere.

“There’s nothing that makes you feel less safe than walking around with guys with AK47s strapped to them. I never wanted anything more than to have a black trench coat to wear around so I could blend in. Instead we walked around in the most conspicuous red-white-and-blue tracksuits imaginable.”

With the 1975 New Year’s Eve battle with the Canadiens still fresh in the mind of the Soviets, the bleu-blanc-rouge tracksuits proved the perfect target for the still-bitter Russians. 

“There was such a rivalry between the Red Army and the Canadiens – they wanted nothing more than to beat us,” explained Ewen. “The difference was, they had been training for half a year just to play us and we were in training camp – and back then you didn’t come to camp in game shape, you used camp to get into shape.

 “We did pretty well, though,” added the bruising winger, whose team left the Soviet Union with a 2-2 record. “The last game [against CSKA Moscow] got a little physical and then the fans started whistling and throwing coins at us that must have weighed like five pounds each. It was a really unique experience over there, to say the least.”

 The adventure continued for Ewen & Co. back at the hotel later that night. After having carefully locked away all their valuables in their rooms, the team returned to discover all of their wives’ makeup had been stolen for sale on the black market. At a 400% markup, makeup may have been a hot commodity in Moscow, but ultimately it was the team’s brand itself that carried the most value.

“You would not believe how widely recognized the CH is internationally. It’s phenomenal,” marveled Ewen. “That logo means so much across the world. We’d put on our Canadiens gear and everyone wanted to get a hold of it – it’s the tradition and the pinnacle of hockey. Or maybe there was just an appreciation for loud Habs tracksuits that we didn’t know about!”

See also
Sticking with it
Arrested development
Stuck on you
Attention to detail
Welcome to the Rock
Hull's not-so secret admirer
The Man With One Red Shoe]]> Players