Craig Anderson among Senators touring northern Canada for charity

One of the rare benefits of the lockout is to open up more elaborate charitable opportunities for players, but few can match what several Ottawa Senators will experience in northern Canada.

The Ottawa Citizen reports that Craig Anderson, Chris Phillips, Chris Neil, Zack Smith, Marc Methot, Guillaume Latendresse and Peter Regin are among the 10 NHL players touring some hard-to-reach outposts to help others.

Anderson notes to Senators Extra that the minus-13 degree weather in Yellowknife was just a bit different from what he’s become used to in Florida.

“It was 80 degrees (Fahrenheit) in Florida yesterday,” Anderson said. “No difference, really … just about 100 degrees.”

Then again, he’s probably not going to get the chance to dogsled in the Sunshine State, either.

“I’m excited to learn and see what the culture is all about and I would really like to do some dog-sledding, if I can,” Anderson said. “When we were in Denver (playing for the Colorado Avalanche), we were going to go on dog tour, but my wife was pregnant and we missed out on the opportunity.”

The three-game charity tour will reach Yellowknife, Inuvik and Whitehorse by the time all of the hockey playing and dog-sledding is finished.

Senators Extra has a photo gallery here.