Toronto deserves this! I don’t care what anyone says. Toronto is a hockey town first and foremost. I can really feel it in the air just walking around downtown this weekend. Now, we just need another Leaf Stanley Cup!! It really hasn’t hit home just how long it’s been, until yesterday, when they introduced some of the surviving members of the 1967 Toronto Maple Leafs. That being David Keon, Bob Pulford, Peter Stemkowski, Mike Walton and Brian Conacher. I had all their hockey cards growing up (still have them), I idolized them.
I played hockey for 12 years and made it further than most (Junior B). However, I lost all interest once politics came into play. Then it became a job, not the fun game I loved. I had lost interest in the pursuit to make the NHL, but I never lost my love of hockey and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ok, to be honest. Only making the playoffs once in a ten-year span (2006-2016) made it extremely tough to be a fan. I even threw a jersey in the trash in disgust after one game. It seemed more like a practice skate than a critical NHL game. But I digress. This past weekend has definitely rejuvenated my Leaf fandom. Maybe this year is THE YEAR!.
