News

Beijing, China – CTC Group Ltd. and the Montreal Canadiens Alumni has reached an agreement on a partnership to promote the development of hockey, beginning with the first clinic in Beijing, China. The project named ‘Montreal Canadiens Alumni in China’ will be held from January 7th to 17th, 2016 and will feature four former players who are all Stanley Cup winners. They will be on the ice to coach local players from the ages 6 to 10 as well as make special appearances at the Canadian Embassy, Pond Hockey tournament and promotional events.

The four Montreal Canadiens Alumni players that will be making their way across the pacific have a combined 3,615 games played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and 10 Stanley Cups between them. They include Hockey Hall of Famer Steve Shutt, head supervisor and coordinator of the hockey school Gaston Gingras, Mathieu Dandenault and Patrice Brisebois.

This will be the first project for the Montreal Canadiens Alumni in Asia with a combined expectation of over 6,000 participants at the hockey clinics and all other events during the 10 days. The Alumni Players will also visit the local schools in Beijing to provide demonstrations and speeches on teamwork, coaching and other topics.

The planning of this project has been ongoing for many months and the announcement comes at an excellent time following the Beijing’s winning bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. It is anticipated that more infrastructure and programs are planned to boost the number of winter sports participants in China.