A Winning Habit
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Meet A Habs Fan – From The Holy Land Via John Ferguson

By Patrick Lortie

JERUSALEM - MAY 02: Palestinians gather to perform Eid al-Fitr prayer at Masjid al-Aqsa Compound in East Jerusalem on May 02, 2022. (Photo by Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
JERUSALEM - MAY 02: Palestinians gather to perform Eid al-Fitr prayer at Masjid al-Aqsa Compound in East Jerusalem on May 02, 2022. (Photo by Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) /
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Our “Meet A Habs Fan” series continue as today we travel all the way to the holy land of Jerusalem, where we meet a very long time Habs fan. Meet Steve Solomon.

I live in Efrat, a suburb of Jerusalem in Israel. I became a lifelong Habs fan at a very young age at the side of my late Dad. As a youngster, my late father allowed me to stay up way past my bedtime on Thursday , May 5th, 1966 in order to see Henri Richard score his only overtime goal, a Stanley Cup winner over the Detroit Red Wings. What memories of the Habs and of my late Dad.

My favorite Canadiens player of all time was number 22, John Ferguson. His grit, his effort, his pride in his team was second to none. While no one would ever suggest that he was the smoothest skater , or that he had the best shot,  no one could deny his intensity and dedication. It was said of Fergy, that he wouldn’t even socialize with players from other teams in order to maintain his competitive edge.

John Ferguson - BC Hockey Hall of Fame
John Ferguson - BC Hockey Hall of Fame /

The ultimate highlight in my mind is of Ferguson motoring down his left wing in a game against the “hated” Boston Bruins, deking the All Star Bobby Orr out of his skates and scoring on Gerry Cheevers. A very unlikely Fergy goal!

Today’s crop of youngsters are reason for optimism as we look toward the coming years. We may even hit the jackpot with our 1st pick in the draft this year.

My only request is to schedule more afternoon games. The +7 hour time difference between Montreal and Israel makes it difficult to see many live games of my forever favorite team.

Today, my favorite up and coming talent would be Cole Caufield.

20170202-021929-Copy
20170202-021929-Copy /

Attached are some photos reflecting when I played on a team representing Montreal vs another team representing Toronto in a Mission to Jerusalem from the Jewish Federation of Montreal in 1996. Montreal won 1-0 and I got the assist on the only goal.

The other photos are of me after hanging up my players skates and becoming a referee for the Israel Recreational Hockey Association.

Never stop skating!!

GO HABS GO!

Steve-as-Referee
Steve-as-Referee /
A Winning Habit
A Winning Habit /

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