by Donna Sim, Content Editor, All Habs Hockey Magazine

CALGARY, AB. — My name is Donna, and I’m in my final year as a psychology student at the University of Calgary. Being from Alberta, I always get asked why I’m not a Flames or an Oilers fan. Not that I dislike either team, there’s just always been something special about the Montréal Canadiens.

Growing up, I never really watched or played hockey. My dad is a huge basketball fan and I guess the idea of sticking blades to his kid’s feet and skating around with a stick while trying not to get hit was (understandably) not his cup of tea.

My parents put me in a French Immersion school when I was a kid, so naturally I had a few teachers who were from Québec and were huge fans of the Canadiens. I remember sitting at my desk in the morning before class started and hearing a teacher talk about what happened in last night’s game and having no clue what was going on.

One of my favourite memories from elementary school was reading The Hockey Sweater (in French of course) by Roch Carrier in class around Christmas time. To this day, it’s still one of my favourite stories. I guess there was just something hilarious about Carrier going to church and praying for God to send “a hundred moths” to eat his Maple Leafs sweater that stuck with me. Either that, or I’ve been conditioned to associate The Hockey Sweater with eating more tire d’érable than any kid should.

Even though I probably knew more about Montréal Canadiens history than someone who didn’t watch any hockey should, I didn’t start tuning into games until Saku Koivu came back from battling cancer in 2002. Even then, I still only watched a few games because I didn’t understand the rules or how the game worked. I just thought it was amazing how beloved he was by Canadiens fans, and that someone had the physical and mental strength to keep playing such a physical game after battling cancer.

I started watching more when Carey Price got the starting position over Jaroslav Halak. I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was because there was such a big deal over it. Again, I still didn’t understand why there was such a big uproar because the only things I knew about hockey were that The Hockey Sweater was a great story, and Koivu was probably the most beloved man I’d ever seen.

I probably owe the development my love for hockey to my friend Christian. In the 2013-2014 season, we became really close friends and happened to have a mutual interest in the Habs. He played hockey growing up, so I finally had someone to explain to me how the game worked. I can tell you first hand, watching hockey gets a lot more interesting when you actually know what’s going on.

I can also probably blame my love for Carey Price on Christian. He was a goalie growing up, and naturally Price has become his favorite player. I can’t blame him though. Watching Price play is really something else. I don’t think I’ll ever understand how someone can look so calm, collected, and in control when he can have a puck flying at him three times from three different angles in five seconds.

After watching the 2013-2014 playoffs and being on the edge of my seat for pretty much every game, I actually became committed to watching hockey. I went to my first NHL game in October 2014, sitting in the nosebleeds at the Saddledome watching the Canadiens play the Flames. Even in the nosebleeds of the ‘Dome, I loved the atmosphere and can’t wait to go watch my team play again.