Meet A Habs Fan – From The Hometown Of Bob Gainey
Welcome to the first of a series of articles entitled “Meet A Habs Fan”. These articles are the personal stories readers have shared with us regarding their connection with the Montreal Canadiens. In this text, we meet Matthew Parks.
I am from Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. I share a hometown with Habs Hall of Famer Bob Gainey. Also, our OHL club, Peterborough Petes were originally a sponsored junior team for the Canadiens upon their birth in 1956. Another shared gem between Peterborough and the Canadiens is Scotty Bowman. He coached both the Petes and the Canadiens during his storied career.
I was born on June 7, 1992 (one year and two days before the Canadiens’ Stanley Cup victory in 1993), and my father is a HUGE Habs fan. When I was young, my Dad took me to meet a man who was doing a signing in Peterborough. This man was my Dad’s all time favourite Hab. He signed my Dad’s jersey and a photo.
The man was Guy Lafleur.
My Dad and I have always shared the ideal “like father, like son” bond. There was only ever one team we watched in the Parks household. We have matching jerseys with our last name and same number (44) on them. A few years back, a team of Canadiens’ alumni played a charity hockey game against a team of local doctors here in town. My Dad and I got tickets and meet and greet passes. We met the likes of Stephane Richer, Chris Nilan and many others, and then got to watch them play at the Memorial Centre. I have been a Habs fan for life, and having grown up (and still live) an hour and half outside of Toronto, a good majority of hockey fans here are Leaf fans. It’s been interesting to say the least!
As for my favourite player, this is tough. There’s tons of players who have donned the CH crest over the years. Despite being born after most the Cups and careers of the iconic Habs, I’m no stranger to their names. My all-time favourite Hab is Patrick Roy. He led the club to a Cup as a rookie in 1986, and then backstopped that infamous run in 1993, including 10 consecutive Overtime victories. My current favourite Hab is, without question, Carey Price. I’ll never understand why there’s some fairweather fans out there to trash talk and lay blame on him. Skating in the shadows of Jacques Plante, Ken Dryden and Patrick Roy, as well as having the biggest city in hockey on your shoulders has got to be difficult. He’s an amazing goalie and he’s pure class.
It’s tough to pick one favourite Habs moment. I can remember the thrill of the Habs runs to the Eastern Conference finals in 2010 and 2014, and of course the run to the Cup Final in 2021. What a rush. Especially as underdogs, and eliminating rivals along the way (Boston in 2014, Toronto in 2021). There is also the first trip I ever got to take to Montreal. I went with my Dad in November of 2015. We got a tour of the Bell Centre (except the dressing room), and watched a game. I don’t want to sound biased, but the Bell Centre is the best home atmosphere in hockey. We also
got to see the Old Forum (now a mall).
I’ll say my favourite moment is a tie between the trip to Montreal in 2015, and watching Artturi Lehkonen score that overtime goal in game 6 against Vegas, sending Montreal to the Cup Finals in 2021, with my Dad. I’m pretty sure we woke up the whole neighbourhood.
I believe the future is bright for the Canadiens. Players like Suzuki and Caufield will flourish, the Habs won the first overall pick this year, and Martin St. Louis is the man to lead the charge behind the bench. The Habs will be a contender once again.
GO HABS GO!
Matthew also runs a Facebook group called Habs 4 Life which totals nearly 10,000 members! The group is dedicated to those loyal Habs fans that dedicate their love for the team regardless of the outcome.
Want your voice heard? Join the A Winning Habit team!