With nine Ontario natives set to hit the ice for the Toronto Maple Leafs on opening night, including the likes of Shawn Matthias and Frank Corrado; both local boys who grew up supporting the club, loyalty to the Leafs should be blatantly clear.
And with the likes of Stuart Percy, Zach Hyman and Mitch Marner all in the developmental pipeline, this string of Ontario players isn’t likely to stop any time soon.
Toronto Maple Leafs president, Brendan Shanahan put it quite clearly that players need to appreciate the city they represent, in a recent interview:
“You have to show that you enjoy playing in a city.