Royal Vale students enjoy the NHL Mobile Museum Experience

Alexander Vekteris said he wasn’t that interested in hockey,  but he  did indeed enjoy visiting the NHL’s Mobile Museum when it made a rare visit to Montreal this month.

“It was pretty fun,” said the Grade 6 student from Royal Vale School in NDG. “It was pretty cool to see what’s happened in hockey over the years and it was fun to pass the puck around.”

Students in  Grades 3 through 6 were invited to participate in an afternoon which combined exhibits on the theme United by Hockey and ball hockey at the Doug Harvey Arena.

The exhibits, which included items from the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, emphasized the diversity of the games and featured pictures, sweaters and other memorabilia if athletes, team executives and media personalities from indigenous, Black, Asian, Hispanic and LBGTQ communities.

“I don’t remember all the names but it was interesting to learn about the first indigenous player,” said Grade 6 student Sasha Poole. “And I saw Carey Price’s helmet and that was cool.”

After touring the trailer housing the exhibits, students were able to test their ball hockey skills as the action moved to the arena. After participating in a number of stick-handling drills, the students engaged in a series of scrimmages under the watchful eyes of physical education teacher Norm Katz and his colleagues.

Former NHL player Sergio Momesso, who attended Saint Monica School and  Marymount
Academy while growing up in NDG, served as a player coach.

“I liked it that everyone got to participate,” said Poole. “Even if you’re not good, you got to play.”

The NHL Mobile Museum was making a rare appearance in Montreal. It was supposed to be here last year as part of the NHL entry draft activities, but scrapped because of COVID concerns. The Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation facilitated this year’s visit and also donated $5,000 to support skating activities in NDG.