This will be a homecoming for Thomas Chabot.
And, he could hardly wait to get there.
The Ottawa Senators defenceman had a bounce in his step after the club skated on Thursday at the Canadian Tire Centre, with the organization shifting its training camp to Quebec City for the next five days.
Chabot, 28, is excited about the opportunity to spend time with his teammates where he grew up, in the nearby suburb of Saint-Marie-de-Beauce, as the Senators prepare for exhibition games against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday and the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.
The players will have a scheduled off-day on Friday and Chabot has set up a golf game for those interested. There was a team dinner on Thursday night after the club arrived and, on Saturday, it’s back to work.
“I never thought I was going to play in Quebec City with the Senators,” Chabot said before the club left. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
The Senators are playing at the Videotron Centre as part of an effort to attract fans in Quebec City. The city lost its National Hockey League team at the end of the 1994-95 campaign when the Nordiques moved to Denver and were rebranded as the Colorado Avalanche.
Chabot knows that people in Quebec City remain hopeful that the NHL will return to the city one day. The Videotron Centre accommodates 18,000 people and, last year, the rink hosted part of the Los Angeles Kings’ camp.
Chabot and his father, Francois, would love to see it.
“Yes,” Chabot said when asked if he’d like to see the Nordiques return, “From my perspective and my dad’s, he loved the Nordiques. It’s a hockey city, it’s a Canadian city and they love the game.
“They’d love to have a team there. It’s a beautiful city, there are a lot of fans there and I would love to see it happen for sure.”
Opportunities like this don’t come along very often in an NHL player’s career. That’s why Chabot wants to make the most of this. His family and friends will be on hand, which is why this will be so special for Chabot.
He purchased 70 tickets for both games and asked coach Travis Green to suit up for both. That’s unusual for a veteran like Chabot in the pre-season, but he wants to savour every moment he has in front of his hometown.
“You never know when you’re going to get a chance like this again. I have a lot of people coming to both games,” Chabot said. “I wouldn’t want to be sitting in the stands watching a game in Quebec City when I know there are so many people that are coming to see me play.
“Yes, it’s only a pre-season game, but it’s going to be fun to have everybody in the same place.”
Green knows what this means to Chabot.
“Anytime you go back to your hometown and get a chance to play where you grew up, it’s always special,” Green said.
This trip is no different for Chabot than it was for captain Daniel Alfredsson to return to Sweden in 2008 or captain Erik Karlsson to Stockholm in 2017.
“At the same time, it’s going to be a little bit of a dream that you dream of playing in front of your friends in your hometown,” Chabot said.
“It’s going to be a fun weekend. We’re going to do some things in the community. We’re definitely looking forward to it.”
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A lot of Chabot’s teammates already have been to Quebec City when he got married last summer to his wife, Marion, and several of them were on hand.
The players will get a chance to enjoy the city. The club will stay in Old Quebec, which will allow them the chance to explore the history and get a feel for the European flavour of the location.
“We don’t get to make our way to Old Quebec a lot, but we know some places,” Chabot said. “There is a lot to do there, there are a lot of restaurants, and I’m sure it won’t be hard. I sent a list to the guys.”
Chabot’s teammates will have fun with the experience.
“The market there is great,” alternate captain Claude Giroux said. “I played there in junior in the same building that the Nordiques used to play in, and it was always packed. The fans were pretty loud, so I expect we’re going to have a good crowd.”