Former Canadiens Forward Eric Houde Sees Excitement Growing In Montreal

Former Montreal Canadiens forward Eric Houde will coach with PWHL Montreal this season. He discusses his decision to join the league and Montreal's rabid hockey fan base with THN's Ian Kennedy.

Montreal has one of the largest hockey fan bases in the world. The city has been tied to hockey history both on the men's and women's side since the game was first played in Canada.

For Eric Houde, he's experienced that playing 30 games for the Montreal Canadiens between 1996 and 1999, and now he's experiencing it as an assistant coach with PWHL Montreal. Houde had not planned to coach professional hockey on the women's side of the sport, but when the call came from general manager Daniele Sauvageau it was an opportunity he couldn't turn down.

"I never really thought about it to join a professional team on the women's side, but after that I didn't want to regret it," Houde said. "To me it was a good experience, a good challenge."

Having lived, played, and coached in Montreal, he also sees the city as a prime market to embrace the PWHL this year and into the future.

"I think it's going to be awesome," he said. "I saw it through social media and people are talking about it in Montreal....the rink is close to downtown, it's a great location...what I've seen and what I've heard so far in Montreal, people are really looking forward to see those girls on the ice and see the calibre and see the rivalry."

Watch Houde's full interview with THN's Ian Kennedy above.