Jon Abrams, formerly of Gananoque, singer/songwriter – “The Hockey Song: For the Love of the Game”. (Submitted photo)

by Lorraine Payette, written November 25, 2013

For the love of the game, playing on a backyard pond
For the love of the game, rockin’ when we sing this song
For the love of the game, feeling that home town pride
For the love of the game, one timer and the crowd goes wild
For the love of the game
– Jon Abrams, “For the Love of the Game”

A son of Gananoque is on his way to the top and he’s hoping for help from everyone in the region.

When a lot of hockey fans were feeling down in the dumps due to the NHL lockout last year, Jon Abrams came to the rescue just in time for the holidays.

Son of Richard “Dick” and Nancy Abrams, the former Gananoque native now lives in Milton, Ontario, with his wife and children. He has been writing music since 2008, and in 2012 he released a six song EP called “Beautiful You Are”, featuring his hockey song “For the Love of the Game.”

“My hockey song is about parents getting their kids to the rink, the kids’ love for the game, and I do highlight a few of the hockey greats like Bobby Orr, Gretzky and Hull and icon Don Cherry,” says Abrams. “The response to the song from local hockey families and kids has been amazing. My two videos on YouTube have had about 2100 hits in a week.”

On November 16 of 2012, he hosted a sold-out “For the Love of the Game” EP Release party and charity fundraiser in support of the Minor Hockey Foundation of Ontario and Milton’s local hospital. Held at the Royal Canadian Legion Hall in Milton, it ran from 8:00 p.m. until 1:30 a.m., and tickets sold for $20 apiece. The price included admission to the event, a copy of the EP (donated by Abrams), and a light meal, along with a silent auction.

Music on the EP consists of “For the Love of the Game”, “Love on a Summer Night”, “Beautiful You Are”, “Crazy – acoustic remix”, “I Just Wanna Be – remix”, and “Country Girl – new version/remix”.

The event was expected to raise about $5,000 for the charities.

“My hope (was) that hockey teams and minor hockey organizations (could) raise funds through my CD which I would offer at cost and enable them to raise $5 per CD,” says Abrams.

And the song caught fire.

Now part of the Hockey Night in Canada Songquest Contest, it has a great following. But it needs help from everyone in the area.

“I’m sharing the link to my CBC profile page,” says Abrams. “(This is) where folks can vote for my hockey song, ‘For The Love Of The Game’, which is doing quite well in the Hockey Night in Canada Songquest contest. The first round of voting ends Dec 11th.”

Voting is easy. Go to http://music.cbc.ca/#/artists/Jon-Abrams and follow instructions.

“Just click on the link, scroll down a bit and you’ll see a blue button that says ‘VOTE FOR THIS ARTIST’,” says Abrams. “People can vote for me once per day through December.”

Although his mind is currently set on making the first cut, friends and family throughout the region would like to see him take his song all the way to the top.

For more information, please go to http://www.jonabramsmusic.com or contact Abrams at jon@jonabramsmusic.com or 416-268-6489. To see the video, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAipZzzMWyM&feature=plcp . To purchase the EP on iTunes, go to http://www.fortheloveofthegamehockeysong.com.