October 6th, 2015

"Hockey is a fast-paced game that relies on speed and vision. But there’s a group of players in Montreal — and others across the country — who don’t let the fact they have a visual impairment get in the way of their love of the game.

Watching Les Hiboux de Montreal play a game looks very similar to your average adult garage league, except for one major difference. Rather than a puck, players — all of whom are visually impaired — use a tin can that is painted black and filled with marbles to score goals. The sound it makes lets players follow the puck, but there are limits to how effective that is, especially when the can is in the air and makes no noise.

“We would love to play with something that is more like a real puck, but that makes a sound,” said Gilles Ouellet, president of Les Hiboux and an employee of the Universite du Quebec a Montreal.

With that idea in mind, Ouellet approached the university 18 months ago about trying to find a solution."

To read more of Kevin Mio's article please visit: MontrealGazette.com