City of St. Albert honours Joseph Benoit

A lot of young Canadian boys grow up with dreams of playing in the NHL. That dream came true for a young Metis boy from St. Albert, and now his family is celebrating his accomplishments after a special honour.
 
Joseph Benoit was born in 1916 and passed away in 1981, after a long and storied career in hockey and standing up for his country in WW2.

His great niece, Joanne Gagnon remembers the first stories she heard about her uncle and how he played hockey on the Sturgeon River, sharing skates with a friend and using a willow stick and chunk of ice to play. She said after a stint with the Edmonton Athletics as a teen and winning a world championship with the Trail Smoke-Eaters, Benoit was quickly picked up by the NHL. Benoit was considered one of the top hockey prospects in the west and played with the Montreal Canadiens in 1940 where he played for two seasons before having to serve in World War 2… after the war he came back and helped Montreal win a Stanley Cup in 1945/46.

The city of St. Albert has honoured Joseph Benoit by naming the pedestrian bridge linking the Braeside neighbourhood with St. Albert Centre... also a Canadiens jersey with his name will hang at Servus Place for public viewing.