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And the Season 3 Competitors Are...

Aug 22, 2011

Get ready, Canada. This fall, Battle of the Blades is back, and this season there's a twist.

For the first time ever, a female hockey player will join the ranks of the NHL veterans and world class world-class figure skaters as a competitor in Battle of the Blades.

"I can't wait to take on the NHL players and show them that women's hockey has come a long way," said an excited Tessa Bonhomme, the show's first ever female hockey player competitor.

Bonhomme, an Olympic Gold Medalist and member of the Canadian National Women's Hockey Team, will swap her hockey blades for figure skates when she joins the ranks of the Battle competitors this season, which kicks off on Sunday, September 18 at 8pm.

Bonhomme is already approaching the competition with a bit of moxie. ""I am honoured to be the first woman representing all those who play our great game and with a partner like David Pelletier, we will try to take it easy on the NHL guys."

Together Bonhomme and Pelletier will be a formidable pair, they both are Olympic Gold Medalists, and they want to give the NHL players a run for their money.

The Full Talent Roster for Season 3:

Tessa Bonhomme was part of Canada's Gold Medal-winning women's hockey team at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. A member of the Canadian National Women's Hockey Team since 2004, she has won Gold and Silver medals in world championship competitions, along with numerous awards and records in college hockey during her time with the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Bryan Berard, the Rhode Island native was the first overall pick in the 1995 NHL Draft and played for six NHL teams including the Toronto Maple Leafs. On March 11, 2000, while playing for the Leafs in a game against the Senators in Ottawa, the stick of Mariàn Hossa clipped Bryan in the right eye, severely injuring it. With incredible determination and after seven eye surgeries, Bryan returned to the NHL completing one of the greatest comeback stories in hockey history.

Brad May was immortalized with broadcaster Rick Jeanneret's famous "May Day!" call after scoring a series-clinching goal for Buffalo in the 1993 playoffs against Boston.  The former Toronto Maple Leaf (2008-2009) and Vancouver Canuck (1997-2000 and 2002-2004) won the Stanley Cup in 2008 with the Anaheim Ducks.

Boyd Devereaux, an Ontario native, won the Stanley Cup with Detroit in 2002 and a World Junior Championships where he scored the winning goals in both the semi-final and gold medial games in 1997. Boyd played for four NHL teams including the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Defenseman Curtis Leschyshyn won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 1996, and also spent time with the Quebec Nordiques (1988-1995) and Ottawa Senators. Curtis is an avid cyclist and is known as one of the most fit NHL players.

Ex-Calgary Flame (1996-2000, 2006) Cale Hulse also played for New Jersey, Nashville, Phoenix and Columbus. The 6'3" Alberta native is no stranger to television sets, as he is married to actress Gina Lee Nolin.