The referee for today's game was quite special for the Canadiens, and it's something never seen before
The referee for today's game was quite special for the Montreal Canadiens, and his story is truly interesting.
As astutely highlighted by Radio-Canada journalist Marc Antoine Godin, Hayden Verbeek, who was indeed one of the officials at today's prospects game live from the Bell Centre, is a former member of the Montreal Canadiens organization.
Hayden Verbeek, who officiated today's game between the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs prospects, is a former Habs player
Verbeek played for the Laval Rocket in 2018-2019, 2019-2020, and 2020-2021, and he even participated in training camps for the Montreal Canadiens a few years ago. Today, however, he was on the ice in a different role-this time as an official!
His rapid rise as a referee has been remarkable.
Verbeek scored 21 points in 45 games in Germany last season, and he will now focus entirely on his career as an official.
Standing at 5'10" and 183 pounds, Verbeek, now 26 years old, played over 90 games in the American Hockey League, most of them with Laval.
It's a wonderful story, and we wish him the best of luck in his career transition.
Clearly, he's off to a great start!
The Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs prospects face off again tomorrow afternoon.
Here is a picture of him in a Canadiens jersey!
| POLL | ||
Which of these players would you choose first for your team? | ||
| William Nyalnder | 139 | 20.2 % |
| Nick Suzuki | 492 | 71.5 % |
| Roope Hintz | 23 | 3.3 % |
| Mika Zibanejad | 34 | 4.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
