Montreal Canadiens: Nine Players Sent Down to Trois Rivieres Lions

The Montreal Canadiens training camp began two weeks ago with 70 players invited to attend.

We have seen them take part in practices and skates every day and they have played five preseason games so far.

Along the way, they have been reducing the number of players in attendance and sending them down to the Junior or AHL level. For the first time ever, they have another option to keep pro players close to home.

The Trois-Rivieres Lions will be joining the ECHL this season, giving Quebec a franchise in the pro league. The ECHL sits one step below the AHL, but finally gives the Canadiens organization three tiers of pro ranks and all of them are local as well. The movement of players between development leagues has been difficult the past few seasons as the Canadiens did not have an ECHL affiliate.

That changes with the Lions in town and nine players were sent down the Trois-Rivieres training camp yesterday.

Forwards Cedric Desruisseaux, Justin Ducharme, Peter Abbandonato, Olivier Archambault, Julien Nantel, Cedric Montminy and defensemen Mathieu Brodeur, Olivier Galipeau, and Charles-David Beaudoin were sent down from the Laval Rocket training camp to the Lions camp.

The first training camp of the Trois-Rivieres Lions is scheduled to open today with players reporting for medicals and testing. The players will hit the ice for the first time as the Lions franchise tomorrow. Practices will take place from October 8th to 10th and from the 12th to 14th as well as the team gears up for the ECHL season.

All practices are open to fans at the Colisée Vidéotron. The Lions first regular season game will take place on Thursday, October 21st when they will face the Newfoundland Growlers in their inaugural ECHL contest.