The HIO Summit

I have not confirmed tickets as yet with the Bell Center. But the only date that will work this year is November 5th and 6th. By the number of e-mails that I have, it looks like I'll need about 100 tickets.

Please don't e-mail me, but you can leave your intent here on the Summit page and check into this page for on going updates. Also leave your questions on this page.

In line for tickets first will be former attendees to past Summits and people that participated in most events including the charity raffle. And of coarse all those who bought me a beer in past years.

There will only be one game ticket available for each regular posters of HIO and one guest. But everyone else can participate in all of our activities.

This year I will only be accepting money orders to pay for your tickets. No cheques or gold please.

More later on, keep checking in here and leaving your...

Continue reading "More Fan Summit Information" »

The three dates that will work for us this year for our Fans HIO Summit are as follows. And our proposed HIO charity hockey game.

 

Friday Nov.5th Habs at Sabers on big screen at Hurleys Pub.

Sat.  Nov.6th Ottawa at the Bell Center.

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Friday,Nov.26th Habs at Atlanta on big screen at Hurleys Pub.

Sat.  Nov. 27th Sabers at the Bell Center.

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Fri. Jan. 21st Habs in Ottawa on big screen at Hurley's Pub.

Sat. Jan. 22nd Ducks at the Bell Center.

 

These are the only games this year that are away on Fri. and home on Sat. Lets have your input for best possible date and I will do my best to secure as many tickets as possible for us.

Some of you are going to try to get your own. We need to confirm the weekend and start to put it all together, including our proposed charity hockey game.!

I will try to get the same deal...

Continue reading "Three Dates For This Years HIO Fan Summit To Choose From" »

Watch Out for when the Lightning moves with Lecavalleir, St. Louis etc. to Quebec City in a year or two!!!!

I attended a couple of games in Tampa this year, and believe me, if there were not any tourist fans at the games, the place would have been empty. This is the first franchise in the south to move north, unless Phoenix gets to Winnipeg first.

So Boucher and his staff will be a big part of the Habs & Quebec City revived hockey wars soon enough.

Remember Betman has already said publicly that Winnipeg and Quebec is where any transfer would take place first.

 

 

Remember, you heard it here first!

 

Before we put in the new pieces, which of the pieces below have to be removed first??

In my mind I believe that the forwards that will not be on the club next year are, #46, #74, and although I love his game # 15

The Defence that will be gone from the roster are, #47, #44, And #22 if his injury is not 100%.

I think we will keep both goal tenders, but if not we have two great back ups in Hamilton.

So we will have at least 6 new faces wearing our colours in the fall from the farm, free agents that might be available and of coarce the trade game that we most certainly will be involved in over this year.

So will you build your choice of a roster???

 

forwards

# Name Height Weight Date Of Birth Age Birth Place 13 Michael Cammalleri    5' 9" 182 8 Jun 1982 27 Richmond Hill, ON, CAN 52 Mathieu Darche   6' 1" 215 26 Nov 1976 33 Montreal, QC, CAN 21 Brian Gionta "A"  5' 7" 173 18 Jan 1979 31 Rochester, NY,...

Continue reading "Can You Build A New Roster For 2010-11. ?" »

This year we have been treated to some fine competitive play off hockey. I know that Hab fans would have liked to continue the ride this year, but the fact of the matter is, we are not there yet as far as having rebuilt this team to take us to the promised land. There are a few dead weight pieces to discard yet and a few pieces to add. But the Habs now have an exciting future after giving all of us a super post season run.

After having said that, we are watching the two best and most competitive play off teams in the league. Both teams play a different style of game and the coaching is playing a large part of every period. It is a wonderful exhibition and execution of our game. This series is something like watching a young child test his or her boundaries with the...

Continue reading "2010 Treats Fans With Great Play Off Hockey!" »

If you are interested, please get in touch with Doug Cote, info below.

We have been discussing a charity game for two years now, as part of our next Habs Inside Out Summit festivities.

We are looking for feed back please. I will forward this to Reg Houle, D Stubbs, M. Boone and all my HIO contacts, maybe we could put a whipping on some of the Canadiens old...

Continue reading "Habs Inside Out Summit Charity Game" »

Just got back from a wonderful 4 days in St. Lambert.

After the article Mike Boone wrote about some of my endeavors a couple years ago, I was contacted by the Chambly County High School Alumni and was invited to attend their all year reunion, even though I had never attended a high school. It was an amazing and a very emotional three days, meeting and hugging hundreds that had passed me by from kindergarten to grade six, and knew not where I had disappeared to.

I just wanted to thank you personally, and all the Habs Inside Out Family on here for all help and patience with me as I continue to grow with this site. Being part of this HIO community and learning how to read and write in a comprehensive way has been the most liberating experience of my life. Thank you friends!

Ian Cobb

Continue reading "Thank You HIO Community" »

How many times have I read that the drafting of a 17 year old is all luck and a crap shoot. Well it is, for most teams and scouts who are not adapt enough in knowing how to evaluate the total package that they are investing in.

There is so much at play here than most people realize. Everyone around the player has their own agenda and I will touch on a few to give you some idea.

First, the team that the player plays for makes a lot of their money from having their player drafted as high as possible. They receive development dollars from the organisation that drafts their players. So there is a great sales pitch to the scouts and pro clubs. A player receives ice time to pad their stats sometimes so that their product is more appealing for the draft. Junior clubs market these kids as any...

Continue reading "The Draft Is Not Luck---It Is Pure Skill And Art Form" »

New parents are all the same. They get caught up in the emotion of the birth of being a new TEAM and no one remembered to change the diaper for 3 days. It was a mess.!!!

From the first, a penalty to Gomez leading to the first goal, it was a complete mess until the last whistle blew. For 60 minutes we forgot how we got to the finals.

We forgot to play as a team and everyone started to play as an individual star. Were they all reading there hero press clippings and forgot they were in the WAR for Stanley? Did they forget that they have won nothing yet but the fans hearts.?

This team needed and received a good old fashion *** wiping.

A large lesson was taught to them last night. This is the Stanley Cup that we are competing for. The most revered prize in all...

Continue reading "3 Days After a Birth, The Diaper Has To be Changed" »

All is possible with this club.

It has taken all year, full of injuries, highs and lows to develop this teams character and chemistry. I knew we had the horses, but was not sure at times if it would come together in time.

We have  peeked at the right time of the year. There are not any super stars aboard, just a great group of character players that plays for each other.

We are witnessing the birth of a great hockey TEAM.

Enjoy

After speaking with management at the Bell Center this morning, I was informed that under any circumstance, there will be no group sales of game tickets for the play offs.

Only way to get tickets is going to be on line and only 2 per person.  I am very sorry, but that is their policy and no exceptions will be made. So good luck in getting tickets on your own.

That does not blow us out of the water all together. We could reserve a floor at Hurley's pub and watch the last game on big screen if that works for us. Of coarse the date will be floating according to how many games it takes us to win it all.

Let me know on here if you might be interested in doing that, and I will make the arrangements.

The Habs Inside Out Community is Getting ready to Celebrate and Gather In Montreal For Their 25th.24 hours in a day24 Canadians in a case24 Cups in MontrealCoincidence? Not a chance!It is inevitable that # 25 is on its way!So we will all meet again Parade Day in Montreal!I am going to try to secure 100 tickets for the Stanley Cup Final series for HIO posters only and one guest. Stay tuned for further developments on this.

Continue reading "HIO Community Planning 25th Celibration" »

Does anyone doubt what this team is capable of now. I have been saying for a long time now that this team is so much better than most people thought. It did take Bob 5 years to put all the pieces together.

I am still not solid with Martin behind the bench but he lets his assistant coaches do their thing, so upstairs he goes with Kurt Muller taking over next year.

Bob has put a crack scouting team together, also down on the farm rebuilding this organisation from top to bottom. Not only for this year, but for years to come as new developed players arrive to fill the skates of players that will be moving on over the next few years.

He even hired his replacement with the Molson boys blessing. Yes we know who has revived this wonderful franchise for years to come.

Yes! our favorite team is back in town for a long stay at the top again....

Continue reading "Conference Finals Coming Up,.. Great Management" »

Mike Boone was talking about emotion last night, wondering if it was an age thing on his part or something. Well if it grows with age, as we develop a truer understanding of the reality at hand. This is the year of totally draining  emotion Mike.

We as fans have gone through hell and back for the last 12 months. From the crap of hopeing that the floaters of last year would somehow get it together and put on some kind of show.  It never happened.

We had to dump our coach who most of us loved as a player. Bob then took over behind the bench to gain a close up look at character in the room.

After the season Bob blew up the whole team, talk about emotion. In one year the dressing room was emptied from top to bottom, never before done in the history of the game. With the likes of Ryder, Begin, Koivu, Kovalev, DagAstini, Kosopolous, oh hell...

Continue reading "Building True Emotion" »

What I love the most of all is no one believes it is possible for us to knock off last years champs. It is just great watching the facial expressions of were they ever lucky.

They have not got a clue that we have one hundred years of learning and playing winning hockey. Do they think that we just got off the boat or something. This game at this level is not purchased with one or two giant contracts, it is won by a team of players, coaches and management with 100 years of experience in how this Stanley Cup contest is won or lost.

Winning is adjusting to your opposition and defeating them. It does not have to be pretty, it just has to be a game plan with total team effort. If we take Crosby or the big"O" and naturalise them, their team becomes disoriented and they lose confidence. they start...

Continue reading "100 years experience" »

I have followed the career of PK ever since he walked on as a 16 year old kid in junior.  From day one he showed a fantastic desire for the dramatics. He wants to be the guy when given the chance to turn a game around. He knows how to pick his spots and just go for it without forgetting his defensive responsibilities.

Today he will be filling in for Markov. He won't just fill in, he will be our best player on the ice. Watch how he gains space and time to set up the perfect pass, right on the tape mind you. Or when he shoots, he will open up a shooting lane by himself, selling the shot one way and delivering it another. 

He does not shy away from laying his shoulders into the play either, he has great balance when the going gets tough.

I mentioned 3 years ago that he was the next Bobby Orr and Brad...

Continue reading "20 year old kid in for Markov" »

Not a chance!, they are all done!, there is always next year!, and so on and so on it goes.

I really hope the Pens read the papers and believe what they read. We have this great team thinking that the CH is being worn just for show. They have no idea what it means to be honoured by wearing our colours. 

They are  making a huge mistake,  thinking we cannot get along without Markov for a few games. Well we did for months, and that was even before we had built this squad into a team. These guys now play for each other with commitment and dedication, they watch each others back and play with a confidence not seen in this town for years.

Granted we are playing the Cup Champs of last year, not of this year mind you. We had our first bad game in quite a few, no big deal. Four penalties on us , four...

Continue reading "They say no chance without Markov!" »

2009 HIO Fan Summit Itinerary Nov. 20 to 22nd in Montreal.

 

Friday Nov. 20th. We are watching the Habs vs  Washington game at Hurleys Pub 1225 Cresent St.  on big screen around 6pm. Name tags will be given out.

Sat. morning, Breakfast will be at Chez Coras 1240 Drummond St. at 8:30am

Sat. at 10;30 Bell Center tour and Habs Hall of Fame tour.

Sat. at 2:45 Pregame meal and The Bob Gainey Foundation Raffle at The Baton Rouge Rest. 1050 Mountain St. Don't forget to bring along something to contribute to the raffle please.

Across the street at 7pm our Habs take on the Red Wings.

After game celebration. We have the second floor of Hurleys Pub reserved for us. A password will be given to you at the pregame meal to by pass any line up and entry to our HIO celebration room.

Sunday farewell breakfast will be at Eggspectation 1313 De Maisonneuve, corner of...

Continue reading "Itinerary for 2009 Habs Fan Summit Nov. 20 to 22nd" »

Submitted by Ian Cobb on Thu, 09/24/2009 - 11:47.

Patrice Brisebois took it all in stride. And with his large heart and broad shoulders he carried more of the blame for his teams  poor performance than he should have. He was the consummate professional team mate.

Brisebois was never a top 2nd defenceman his whole career. He played the game with all his worth every time on the ice. His low shot from the point was on  net more than not, creating chances.

After 16 years in this tough league he came back home as the 7th D for...

Continue reading "Patrice Brisebois" »

UPDATE # 1 Jason M has created a Flickr account for all of us to upload and share photos after the Summit. It includes photos from past Summits from links Sherrie and Kevin have posted below.

UPDATE # 2: Ian has set up a group rate at Novotel on Crescent St. One king bed is $120 per night and 2 kings are $139. Use the pass word "Habs Inside Out" for the special rate. For those wondering, Novotel is a slapshot away from the Bell and within crawling distance of Hurley's pub. 

UPDATE # 3: Of 30 e-mail questionaires sent out this week, I have had 22 replies regarding activity preferences. All but 6 folks are in for the Bell Tour, everyone so far is up for Baton Rouge and only a couple will not be attending the later gathering at Hurley's. There were 14 positive responses for breakfast...

Continue reading "Habs Fans Summit - November 21, 2009" »

This thread pertains only to the December 8 date fan summit - not to be confused with the Habs Fan Summit of November 21.

Please refer all queries regarding this outing to HabsRule1 (Paul Dube).

There is also information contained herein regarding getogethers for game in Florida and in a Montreal bar for a game in October. Again, please refer to posters of those particular "comments" for further information.

Thanks and best of luck to all of you in these endeavors.

 

From Ian Cobb:

ATTENTION HIO COMMUNITY!

A Habs Fans Summit is being organized in Hamilton on April 4, for a Bulldogs game against the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Tickets are specially priced at $14.00 each, and all seats will be on the first level together. They can be ordered, not through Pay Pal this time, but by calling directly to Bulldogs representative Kyle Robinson at 905-546-8170. Your ticket requests and the shipping will be handled by Mr. Robinson.

Order your tickets using the password "Montreal Summit Group" to receive the group discount price.

Ian also has Kyle's e-mail, if you would prefer to establish contact in that manner.

The Summit Group are also planning to have a pre game meal near the Copps Coliseum at 4:30 prior to the game's 7 p.m. start.

Update: A location has now been chosen for the meal - The Pheasant Plucker, at 20 Augusta St...

Continue reading "Habs Fans Summit, Version 2.5 Hamilton Bulldogs" »

The story on goalle Carey Price, who graces the cover of the new edition of ESPN, the Magazine, is available online.

 

It a pretty good story overall, even if we Montrealers who are around the sensation all the time might have a few quibbles with a few things in it.

 

Here's the link:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3836512

 

A quick follow up here on the Habs Inside Out fan summit donation to the Gainey Foundation after last month's raffle. The amount donated to the fund from fans totalled $1,250.00 and today I received a thank you note on our behalf.

Below, are the contents of the short note sent from Anna Gainey. Take a minute or two to visit the Gainey Foundation website and learn about all their endeavors. A big thanks once more to all the HIO summiteers who gave so generously of their time, their wallets, and of their collections to make this happen.

November 12, 2008

Dear Robert:

On behalf of my family, I would like to extend our sincere thanks to the Habs inside - out group for their generous support of the Gainey Foundation. I received both the money order and cheque you sent by mail.

I regret not being able...

Continue reading "A Letter From The Gainey Foundation" »

The Habs Inside Out's second annual Habs Fan Summit has come and gone in a blur.

As was the case 12 months ago on the occasion of the inaugural event, it was indeed a blissful blur once again.

I can only truly speak for my own self, but perhaps this thought resonates throughout all the hearts and minds of the other participants in this weekend. After months of anxious anticipation, the day sure passes by in a flash.

Before you know it, the day is ending, and it seems to leave you wanting more.

Consider this: There were quite possibly 70 or more people attending the game and the individual events. For everyone gathered, there were dozens of immediate new aquaintences made. For those who took part the first time around, there were familiar faces added in to the meet and greet mix. Through the multitude of handshakes, hugs and hellos, there simply...

Continue reading "A Ball Was Had By All At The HIO Habs Fan Summit 2008" »

Alright, Habs Inside Out Summitters.....are you ready to party!

Seems like all this is approaching at the speed of light, isn't?

Well thankfully, the long wait is finally almost over!

This will be the final post leading up to Saturday's game and should serve to detail and inform about all the day's happening and events.

If I do this right, it ought to be chronological!

When the Sun rises saturday morning on Montreal - and it darn well better - some of the group will already be in the city, having travelled the night before.

Whether you reside in the city hockey never forgot, stayed over the night before at Hotel Du Fort, or are arriving in the city early, Paul Dube (Habs Rule 1) had you in mind.

BREAKFAST 9 A.M.

He's set up breakfast for us early risers at Eggspectations, located at 1313 De Maisonneuve West, at the corner of Rue de la Montagne. It is...

Continue reading "HIO Summit Day Agenda" »

The raffle to benefit the Gainey Foundation will be taking place at Baton Rouge at 3:30 P.M. We are asking that those who are proving the gift donations arrive at 3:00 to allow for some set up and organizing time.

As this is a bit of a new endeavor for us, there will be some speed bumps along the way.

We have a basement floor room reserved for our group at the restaurant, and they are prepared for what we are about to do.

The great news is that there's a very good to excellent chance that Canadiens alumni president Rejean Houle will be joining us at 4:00 p.m. Speaking with Mr. Houle yesterday, he confirmed with me that his schedule is clear for that time. Only an unforeseen situation will prevent him from stopping by and spending time with us.

Ms. Anna Gainey, daughter of Bob and the person...

Continue reading "The Raffle Prizes And Details" »

At long last, the day of the Summit is finally upon us, a mere 72 hours away.

Much work has been done to put this day together, but before getting on to discussing the agenda of the opening of Duck hunting season, a shout out must be passed on for all those who helped bring about great time we are set to enjoy.

From the moment the Summit 2 idea was dropped at HIO this summer, Rob Sweick (a.k.a Smart Dog) came on board enthusiastically, offering to help out in practically every endeavor. In the areas of ticket purchasing, travel and hotel accomodations, and scheduling, Rob did much work behind the scenes to help prepare for different situations and scenarios as plans unfolded. Unfortunately for our friend, his work was cut short by a death in his family. He passed along what he had come up with, and was very much hoping...

Continue reading "Getting By With A Lot Of Help From Our Friends" »

Seventeen days and counting!

People....are we all anxious yet?

I get the sense from e-mails back and forth from folks, and messages left in this space, that we are all excited for the drive to October 25.

PLEASE CHECK THE LATEST UPDATES AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POSTING.

This post will pertain strictly to the Gainey Foundation raffle idea. Here's a little background on the idea.

Back in July when we were putting plans in place for this year's summit, several posters brought up last seasons group making a cash donation to the Gainey Foundation by means of raffling a Canadiens jersey. I do not know who originated the idea then, but I found it to be a beautiful gesture on the part of those fans. When the idea was brought up again this time, I decided I wanted to take a more active part in it.

I began to look through...

Continue reading "Habs Inside Out Fan Summit Raffle" »

Somewhere in this place you plan to enjoy the greatest sport on earth, played by the greatest team ever to play the game in the world, with many of the greatest fans of hockey and this storied franchise that you will ever meet. But being a true fan you want to expand your knowledge of the hockey universe.

On October 25th, and sometime before 7 O'clock that evening, you will be settling in to your seat to enjoy the game with all of us that are attending The Habs Inside/Out Fan Summit. But our very first official event to kick off our pilgrimage to hockey's Mecca will be starting at 10:30 that morning at the Centre Bell. At that time we will be gathering outside to prepare for the tour. We want everyone there the extra half hour early - the tour launch time is actually at...

Continue reading "Welcome to the Centre of the Hockey Universe" »