MONTREAL -- Dominic Talbot-Tassi, an incoming freshman at McGill University, was a surprise beneficiary from a Good Samaritan at a Bell Centre press conference, Wednesday, to announce the Guy Lafleur awards of excellence.

A 5-foot-9, 174-pound defenceman with the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Talbot-Tassi was handed a $6,000 bursary -- over the next three years -- courtesy of Jérémy Grégoire of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. Grégoire, a native of Sherbrooke, Que., who was named as the QMJHL's scholastic player of the year, for the second consecutive year, wasn't eligibile to receive the bursary for a second time.

"Dominic was a finalist for this award in each of the last two two years," said Grégoire, a sixth-round draft-pick (176th overall) by the Montreal Canadiens in 2013, who measures 6-foot-1 and weighs 190 pounds. "I know he works extremely hard on and off the ice. He wants to study at McGill so this scholarship should go to him."

The awards, sponsored by the Montreal Canadiens, are given annually to the top student-athletes who have excelled at both, sports and academics. A $6,000 bursary is awarded to the top nominee from both the RSEQ and QMJHL leagues. In addition, a $1,000 bursary is presented to the top candidate from either the CEGEP league or the Quebec Jr. AAA level.

"At first, I believed it was like a gift falling from the sky," said Talbot-Tassi, who tallied 51 points, including nine goals in 63 games last season. He is graduating from Collège Esther-Blonding this spring and will be studying engineering at McGill in the fall. "I'm really grateful to Jérémy. This scholarship will help me pay for my studies. This is a good boost for me."

The other Lafleur award winners announced included Concordia forward Olivier Hinse -- who edged out two otherb finalists,  McGill sophomore goaltender Jacob Gervais-Chouinard and Félix Plouffe from the Université du Québec à Trois-Riviéres. The winner of the $1,000 Lafleur award of merit was Xavier Labonté, a defenceman with Collège Laflèche.

The selection of Hinse as the university-level recipient, snapped McGill's win streak of four consecutive years. Since the Guy Lafleur award was initiated in 1985, the Redmen have won 17 times in 31 years.

"These bursaries allow young hockey players to continue studying while also playing sports, something which wasn't possible in our days," said Lafleur. "Today, there are so many opportunities for our youth to succeed, and I tip my hat to all of these athletes who work so hard every year to perform just as well in the classroom as they do on the ice."

ARTICLE IN RDS WEBSITE

PAT HICKEY'S ARTICLE IN THE GAZETTE

ARTICLE IN LA PRESSE

ARTICLE IN TVA SPORTS WEBSITE


PREVIOUS  UNIVERSITY RECIPIENTS OF THE GUY LAFLEUR TROPHY:

1985    Paul Gagné, UQAC
1986    Mark Reade, McGill
1987    Alain Bisson, UQTR
1988    Tim Iannone, McGill
1989    Richard Laplante, Concordia
1990    Benoit Gosselin, UQTR
1991    Robert Desjardins, Concordia
1992    Patrick Jeanson, McGill
1993    Guy Boucher, McGill
1994    Patrick Genest, UQTR
1995    (tie) Todd Marcellus, McGill & Alain Coté, UQTR
1996    Pierre Gendron, McGill
1997    Louis-Simon Ferland, McGill
1998    Vincent Labossière, Concordia
1999    Mathieu Darche, McGill
2000    Luc Bélanger, UQTR
2001    Paul Theriault, McGill
2002    Philippe Ozga, Concordia
2003    (tie) Bruno Lemire, McGill &  Pat Theriault, Concordia
2004    Fredéric Faucher, Concordia
2005    Mathieu Poitras, McGill
2006    Karl Gagné, Concordia
2007    Jean-Michel Filiatrault, McGill
2008    Nicolas Désilets, UQTR
2009    Marc-André Dorion, McGill
2010    Francis Charland, UQTR
2011    Francis Verreault-Paul, McGill
2012    Ryan McKiernan, McGill
2013    Patrick Delisle-Houde, McGill
2014    Cedric McNicoll, McGill
2015    Olivier Hinse, Concordia

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman,
McGill Athletics & Recreation
(514) 398-7012
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca