Julien Nantel, from Duvernay is among the 28 athletes who’ve won bursaries for their excellence

Julien Nantel, a 15-year-old resident of Laval’s Duvernay sector who plays for Midget AAA hockey’s Rousseau-Royal de Laval-Montreal, is among the 28 athletes from all over Quebec who have each been awarded $1,500 as part of the fifth annual Montreal Canadiens Bursary Program.

Bell Centre event
Co-sponsored by the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence, this year’s winners were announced and presented with their cheques during a press conference held at the Bell Centre in downtown Montreal before last Wednesday evening’s match, in which the Canadiens roared back to life following a long drought to soundly defeat the Western Conference-leading Red Wings 7-2.

In an interview with the Laval News, Nantel, who was the only recipient this year from Laval, said he personally “had a good year” playing hockey, although his team hasn’t necessarily been as fortunate. He said that he’s been given a lot of ice time lately. Nantel, who hopes to pursue studies leading towards a career in finance, said he might also be interested in playing professional hockey.

Presented by Habs’ Gionta
Habs captain Brian Gionta, who is currently sidelined following surgery for an arm injury, had the honor of handing the envelopes to the aspiring young male and female hockey players. “I’m honored to be here and to be a part of this.” he said. “Obviously this is also something special for the Canadiens to give back to deserving athletes.”

Claude Chagnon, president of the QFAE, said the foundation “is very proud to support our young student-athletes in hockey in the early stages and it’s very important for the foundation to encourage these hockey hopefuls to put as much effort in class as on the ice.”

Bursaries for academics
In saying that, Chagnon wasn’t making an idle boast. This year, the Habs and the QFAE decided to award seven special bursaries for “academic excellence,” as a reminder that scholastic performance is an important eligibility criteria to better prepare students for a post-athletic career.

Recipients for the Canadiens 2012 bursaries were chosen based on their athletic excellence and for having continued their secondary or post-secondary education. While the Canadiens organization has provided funding in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for the bursaries, the program itself is managed by the QFAE in partnership with Hockey Quebec and the Midget AAA League.