In Case You Missed It: Habs News and Blogger Views for January 4, 2010

Still recuperating from the chaos of the holiday season, I came across a few things of interest to peruse through as the Canadiens make their way to Washington.

Habs World Junior Championship Alumni: Props to Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette/HabsInsideOut for tweeting a list Canadiens players, on the current roster, with a WJC medal.

Gold (3): Tomas Plekanec, CZE, 2001; Benoit Pouliot, CAN, 2006; Carey Price, CAN, 2007

Silver (4): Paul Mara, USA, 1997; Andrei Markov, RUS, 1998; Mike Cammalleri, CAN, 2002; Josh Gorges, CAN, 2004

Bronze (2): Andrei Markov, RUS, 1997; Mike Cammalleri, CAN, 2001

In total, 14 players on the Habs roster, have played in 24 World Junior Championships tournaments. Sergei Kostitsyn and Paul Mara have each played in three tournaments.

 

 A Resolution for Tolerance: JT at the “The H Does Not Stand for Habs” has her New Year’s resolution, but may have a list of snags.

 

Lack of Support for Price: I brought this to attention, earlier in the season, on the lack of scoring support by the Canadiens for Carey Price.

Marc-Antoine Godin, of La Presse, divulges into it further, noting the Habs score and average of 3.24 goals-per-game with Jaroslav Halak in net as opposed to 2.19 with Price in goal.

 

 Desjardins honoured by AHL: Cedrick Desjardins, of the Hamilton Bulldogs, has been named the AHL Goaltender of the Month for December.

The goaltender went undefeated (8-0), posting three shutouts, a 1.16 GAA and .949 SvPct.

The 24-year-old prospect  is 14-5-1 in 21 games for Hamilton this season, ranking second in the AHL with a 1.66 goals-against average, third with a .932 save percentage and first with five shutouts.

Habs World has their weekly recap of the Hamilton Bulldogs here.

 

What the Habs are driving, and wearing: Nice piece at All Habs on a visit to team practice, and seeing what the players are driving.

I never saw Travis Moen (pictured) as the Hyundai type, especially as a rental. Hopefully he has snow tires on it. Scott Gomez, in a Mini Cooper, in the Montreal snow?

Habs vs. Nordiques Rivalry Continues: Veterans from the wars of the Battle of Quebec will have a chance to renew their rivalry in March.

The former players will meet in a pair of games, March 13 in Quebec City and March 14 in Montreal.

Tickets can be purchased at GEG.CA for the game at the Bell Centre, or at La Colisée Pepsi

 This Day in Habs History: On January 4, 1975 Guy Lafleur scores his 5th career hat trick and adds three assists as the Canadiens crush the Washington Capitals 10-0.

Lafleur would finish his breakout 1974-75 season with 53 goals, breaking the team record of 50 first set by Maurice Richard and later equaled by Bernie Geoffrion.

When Canada left the IIHF: With Team Canada’s Junior team ready top play for a 6th straight title , and the Olympics just weeks away, here’s a great piece by Joe Pelletier at Greatest Hockey Legends.

Joe looks back 40 years ago, when Team Canada walked away from the International Ice Hockey Federation.

Mr. Tretiak goes to Pittsburgh: The Pittsbugh Tribune caught up with former goaltending great Vladislav Tretiak at a recent Penguins game.

Hockey Hall of Fame Part Three: International Flair

Canada, Russia, Finland, Sweden are all commonly known power houses in the hockey world.

Thailand?, Australia? South Africa? or Spain? Probably not so much.

Nonetheless, all teams recognized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) have their recognition in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The Hockey Hall of Fame’s World of Hockey exhibit acknowledges all 63 current members (Men’s Ranking and Women’s Rankings) of the IIHF with an individual cards along the display cabinets with each country’s history and national champions.

The primary focus in the exhibit is on the Olympics and World Championships, but all the major historical international tournaments, the World Cup of Hockey and the Canada Cup, as well as other significant worldwide hockey events are included.

The Challenge Cup, Canada Cup, World Cup, and Rendez-vous ‘87 trophies

A display of Olympic Hockey jerseys,including one from the inaugural 1920 games

 

A Belleville McFarlands Jersey, from the winning 1959 World Championships, (left) and PK Subban’s jersey and pucks from the 2009 WJC.

A rather significant part of the exhibit is the IIHF Honour Roll, which marks the contributions of players and builders in international hockey.

You can see the Honour Roll in the video I took on my visit below.

Canada and Russia are still the dominant two countries in International Hockey. A multitude of memorabilia and photos highlight these two nations.

A large mural showing the 1972 Canada/Russia Summit

Russian hockey memorabilia at the HHOF(clockwise from top left); a Russian Hockey poster, Kharlamov’s helmet, Anatoli Tasarov’s book and the flag presented to Vladisalv Tretiak when he was awarded the Order of Lenin.

A collection of international awards (Jr., Men’s and Women’s) won by Canadian teams in recent years.

An assortment of International Hockey cards in the Upper Deck Collectors section

As I said, several other countries (common and uncommon) are represented. Most impressive is the array of hockey jerseys worn all over the world.

Jersey from the 1936 Gold Medal team from Great Britain. Note: All but two players were of Canadian descent, just thought I’d mention it :)

My complete collection of photos that I took on my trip can be seen here.

Something else that is unique is how they used the corners of the displays to showcase small photos from games played in different parts of the world. Truly a nice touch.

For those looking to learn more on International Hockey, the Hockey Hall of Fame is a great place to start. If you are in Toronto, I strongly suggest taking time to visit.

I have also included links to the first two parts of my trip below:

Part One: A must visit for Montreal Canadiens Fans

Part Two: Awards and History in Every Corner