Time sure flies for young Leafs BEING ON THE ICE ... BRINGS BACK A LOT OF MEMORIES.

City ‘special’ for Kapanen, van Riemsdyk

PHILADELPHIA •Tuesday’s game at Wells Fargo Center held great significance for two Toronto Maple Leafs.

James van Riemsdyk played here, but Kasperi Kapanen was raised here in part, spending time as a kid in the halls or around the Flyers family lounge while father Sami played his last five NHL seasons. Kapanen, called up from the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies Tuesday to take the injured Nikita Soshnikov’s place on the roster, was greeted by an elderly Flyer dressing room attendant who remembered him in the early 2000s.

“It will always be a special place and city for me,” said Kapanen, who didn’t dress for the game. “Just being on the ice again and seeing the seats I last sat in brings back a lot of memories.”

Kapanen was six when his dad moved from the Carolina Hurricanes to the Flyers and the family joined other Flyer clans in southern New Jersey.

“I made some friends and I’ll see a buddy of mine tonight who I haven’t seen in a while,” Kapanen said.

Van Riemsdyk played three seasons in Philly before being traded for Toronto defenceman Luke Schenn at the 2012 draft. The Middletown, N.J., native was also a popular man around the rink Tuesday and expressed his gratitude to the Flyers for giving him an NHL start. But he conceded he was a big New York Rangers fan as a kid.

“These guys were the enemy,” he said with a laugh.

SIMMONDS SALUTES THE CHAMPS

Toronto native Wayne Simmonds of the Flyers has performed well in many games against the Leafs, but spends summers at home and was glad to see a couple of local teams celebrate titles at Toronto City Hall in recent weeks.

“TFC, I saw that; I saw the Argos win, too,” Simmonds said. “Definitely nice to see some championships come to the city. I live in Aurora and go back every summer. I love playing the hometown team. Friends and family root for me, against me, it doesn’t really matter.”

BABS AND HAKS

Philly coach Dave Hakstol was mentioned recently by colleague Mike Babcock as part off the NHL’s Western Canadian coaching mafia that includes Calgary’s Glen Gulutzan, Ken Hitchcock of the Dallas Stars and Barry Trotz of the Washington Capitals. Hakstol is from Drayton Valley, Alta., and made his name coaching the University of North Dakota.

“Mike and I haven’t met, but there’s obviously the coaches clinic and things like that,” Hakstol said. “It’s always nice to be able to share things, tactically or otherwise. It’s a pretty good group and I’m one of the younger guys.”

LOOSE LEAFS

Soshnikov was sidelined with a lower-body injury. It’s not known if it’s the same issue that limited his playing time last season. Soshnikov had played three NHL games, same as Kapanen, in with the Leafs earlier this year ... The big sports news in Philly this week was Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz having season-ending anterior cruciate ligament surgery. The doctor expected to operate on him, Peter DeLuca, performed a similar operation on Flyers’ top-scoring defenceman Shayne Gostisbehere three years ago. “He’s going to have the best,” Gostisbehere told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “The rehab is really gruelling; it’s ups and downs. I hope for the best for him.” ... Leafs president Brendan Shanahan was in Philly on Tuesday and watched Patrick Marleau pass him for 16th place in NHL history for games played, Marleau reaching 1,525.

MATT KINCAID / GETTY IMAGES Former Philadelphia Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk, now with the Toronto Maple Leafs, said his former club used to be “the enemy” when he was growing up in New Jersey as a New York Rangers fan.