At the start of each season, coach Maxime Charlebois asks his hockey teams at Saint-Sacrement College in Terrebonne to choose three words, three words around which his players will rally.
And all season, players must adhere to these three words, on the ice and off the ice. Because every year, Maxime Charlebois demands a sporting (in hockey) and academic (in studies) commitment from those he calls his human-athletes.
This season, those words are: discipline, pride and sacrifice.
The coach Charlebois keeps in touch with the alumni of L’Express, the name of the Saint-Sacrement college teams. He invites them to attend the training sessions of the current editions. Alumni are always welcome around L’Express.
Hence Maxime’s saying: Express one day, Express forever.
At this stage of reading the column, the coach must be a little irritated: he had warned me well, during our interview: “This story is not regarding me…”
And he’s right: it’s regarding Alexis.
In 2019-2020, Alexis Carboni wore number 8 of L’Express, for his last season at Saint-Sacrement College. He was in 5e secondary at the time. In June 2020, he obtained his high school diploma, then he began studies at Cégep Ahuntsic in police techniques.
Last December, Alexis received a metaphorical double failure: diagnosed with bone cancer, Ewing’s sarcoma. A ton of brick fell on this 19-year-old.
Overnight, student Alexis became a patient. He started his chemotherapy treatments almost immediately.
PROVIDED BY MAXIME CHARLEBOIS
Alexis Carboni
When I spoke to Alexis yesterday morning, he was regarding to start his third day (of four) of treatment for the week, at the Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital, a full day of being injected with chemo. He is in the middle of his 14 week treatment cycle.
After a day of chemo, of course, Alexis is gutted.
“Are you going to be there Friday night at the arena, Alexis?”
– I’m supposed to be here, yes. »
Friday night, tonight: that’s what this column is regarding.
The Forum de La Plaine will be full for the match between L’Express and its big rivals, Les Faucons de l’Académie Sainte-Thérèse, M18, division 1. In the stands, everyone will be wearing a t-shirt bought in support to Alexis and his family, a white t-shirt.
It all started during a conversation between the coach and his sports director, Ronald Trudel. Maxime Charlebois wanted to show concrete support to Alexis, to make him understand that his former player was not alone. He had an idea: to have a few t-shirts made in support of Alexis.
“I was thinking that the spectators might wear it during a game, a bit like the Winnipeg Jets, in the playoffs, when they are all dressed in white…”
After reflection, Maxime Charlebois took the plunge: he first ordered 50 t-shirts…
But the news of a wave of support for Alexis spread quickly thanks to the internet: Geneviève Marcoux, the blonde coachwrote a text on Alexis for the Femme d’Hockey website1 ; a Facebook page created by Carine Montpetit (La Saison D’Alexis) documented the young man’s journey and Marjorie Drouin launched a GoFundMe for the family…
And that’s how the interest in the match in support of Alexis grew “exponentially”, says the coach Charlebois: “It started like that, in a banal way, just from the idea that Alexis realizes that there are a lot of people behind him…”
A lot of people ?
He sold 650 white jerseys in support of Alexis, for this special game!
When I spoke to him on Thursday, Maxime Charlebois was blown away: “We sold everything, but there is still demand. Just today, I might have sold 100…”
An anonymous donor called: I pay the manufacturing costs of all the t-shirts, you will give all the proceeds from the sale to Alexis’ family…
Even Les Faucons will be part of the solidarity movement. Ramzi Abid2, the trainer: “We got on board straight away. Our parents have all boarded, everyone will be in white. It’s going to be an intense match, but we’re going to be together in something beautiful. There are so many negatives in hockey right now, it’s fun to get into something positive…”
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Ramzi Abid, coach of the Sainte-Thérèse Academy Falcons
I would also like to point out that the L’Express players will be wearing an “8” sticker on their helmets tonight, Alexis’s number when he played with the team. Same thing for the Falcons players.
A Swiss team that hosted L’Express when Alexis was on the team also displays this sticker on its helmets. As well as the ringette team of Carolane, Alexis’ little sister, graduating from Saint-Sacrement.
And Jérémy Villemaire, who wears the jersey number 8 of L’Express in this season 2022-2023, will no longer wear it: from this evening, he puts on the 65.
It is even a question, Maxime told me on Thursday, that all the goals and assists announced at the Forum de La Plaine this evening are the fruit of number 8, an idea of his human-athletes…
In short, Alexis is not alone in his intimate fight.
If Alexis isn’t too tired, he’ll be at the Forum de La Plaine tonight. He holds it.
“Do you remember the motto of the coach Charlebois, Alexis?
– Yes, Express one day, Express forever. The team, he has always said, is the family: you have to be there to help each other, to support yourself in sport, but in studies, too. We see it with my situation. He tried to surround me as much as possible. It wasn’t just words, Express one day, Express forever…”
I forgot to tell you the three words chosen by L’Express when Alexis wore number 8: united, intense and courageous.
It wasn’t fair for the 2019-20 season, apparently.
