Montreal (February 5, 2019) For the 12th consecutive year, the Montreal Canadiens are joining forces with the Fondation de l’athlète d’excellence (FAEQ) to award scholarships for up-and-coming male and female hockey players. This evening, just before the game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Anaheim Ducks at the Bell Centre, 29 of Quebec's most promising student-athletes in hockey received a $1,500 scholarship $ from Canadiens General Manager Marc Bergevin.
«The Montreal Canadiens organization is very proud to have been encouraging the athletic and academic success of young hockey players across the province for 12 years, and to highlight the remarkable performance of our recipients tonight, both on the ice and in the classroom,» said Geoff Molson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Montreal Canadiens Hockey Club.
Through their scholarship program, established in 2008, the Montreal Canadiens contribute to the development of local hockey talent. The partnership between the Canadiens and the FAEQ was renewed in 2015 for an additional five years, totaling an investment of $250,000 $ over five years to continue the program until 2020.
«What could be better for a student-hockey player than to be supported by the Montreal Canadiens? The Foundation for Athletic Excellence is truly proud of this valuable collaboration with the CH, which goes far beyond mere financial support, recalled Claude Chagnon, President of the FAEQ. Indeed, what a feeling to be encouraged by the most famous hockey club in the world! The Foundation and the Canadiens form a prestigious partnership dedicated to the success of the province's top student-athletes in hockey.»
This year, the Montreal Canadiens scholarship program, managed by the FAEQ in partnership with Hockey Quebec and the Midget AAA League, will benefit 29 student-athletes between the ages of 15 and 17, who were chosen based on their talent and athletic achievements, as well as their academic progress. Eight scholarships were awarded to female hockey players who are members of team Quebec and aspire to be selected for the national women's team, and 21 other scholarships were awarded to male hockey players from the Midget AAA League. One of the FAEQ's eligibility criteria is the continuation of studies, thus promoting preparation for life after a sports career.
En plus des 26 bourses d’Excellence académique attribuées aux étudiants-athlètes ayant obtenu des résultats scolaires dignes de mention et des deux bourses de Soutien à la réussite académique et sportive octroyées afin d’encourager une meilleure conciliation du sport et des études, une nouvelle bourse in memoriam fait son apparition cette année. Décernée en mémoire de feu M. Denis Baillairgé, ancien président de la Ligue de hockey Midget AAA qui s’est éteint en août dernier, cette bourse Leadership de 1 500 $, visant à récompenser la somme des succès sportifs et académiques jumelés à une implication communautaire importante, a été remise à Nicolas Daigle, capitaine des Chevaliers de Lévis.
The 29 student-athletes honoured this Tuesday will follow in the footsteps of former scholarship recipients with inspiring careers, such as multiple Olympic medallists in women's field hockey Marie-Philip Poulin, Mélodie Daoust, Lauriane Rougeau and Ann-Renée Desbiens, all four of whom took part in the last PyeongChang Olympic Games in 2018 and were supported on several occasions by the Foundation's various scholarship programs at the start of their sporting careers. On the men's side, Alexandre Fortin (Chicago Blackhawks), Maxime Comtois (Anaheim Ducks) and Nicolas Roy (Carolina Hurricanes) all took to the coveted rinks of the National Hockey League (NHL) for their first games this year. They join the ranks of other distinguished QLET Fellows - such as Samuel Girard of the Colorado Avalanche, Michael Matheson of the Florida Panthers, Anthony Duclair of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Samuel Blais of the St. Louis Blues - who have all played at least 20 NHL games this season.
