Ottawa man makes Santa chair out of hockey sticks for Sens outdoor game

An Ottawa man who dons Kris Kringle's red suit for parties and events has crafted a special bench for this weekend's NHL 100 Classic game at Lansdowne Park.

Marc Bertrand assembled used hockey sticks donated by Carleton University and the University of Ottawa, along with ones he found discarded at arenas, to create the bench.

It will be used as a seat for Santa Claus outside the game between the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

The chair took about 10 hours to build, but Bertrand said he spent three weeks looking for the right hockey sticks to do the job.

He noted in an email that he will be dressing up as the jolly man in red for the game and that the chair will be set up in the Aberdeen Pavilion.

"I'm so honoured to have the opportunity to do this," Bertrand said. "It was something I suggested and [the NHL] totally went 100 per cent for it."

Game of Thrones fans might find the chair familiar. Bertrand said that it was inspired by the popular television show.

Saturday's outdoor game will pay tribute to 100 years of NHL contests.

The first NHL game took place on Dec. 19, 1917, between the Senators and the Canadiens at Dey's Arena in Ottawa, which stood on present-day Confederation Park.

"Part of the negotiations for building the chair is that they get to keep it, so the NHL wants to keep my chair for I guess future, historical reasons," Bertrand added.

"I'm really quite touched by that."