Leafs Niagara bound
Whether it was the negative ions or not, the Toronto Maple Leafs are coming back to the Honeymoon Capital.
And this time it won’t just be the Baby Buds visiting the Gale Centre.
In preparation for the 2017-2018 National Hockey League season, the Leafs will travel to Niagara Falls for training camp Sept. 15 to 17.
Last year, the team held a development camp for its young prospects at the Fourth Avenue arena.
This year, the Leafs will give fans the opportunity to watch trainingcamp activities including practices, scrimmages, a Leafs alumni game, and various outdoor activities.
The team will hold daily practices and scrimmages from Sept. 15 to 17 with doors opening at 9 a.m.
On Sept. 16 at 7 p.m., the puck will drop in a matchup between Leaf alumni and the Canadian Armed Forces Base Borden. Doors will open to fans at 6 p.m.
The Leafs alumni roster includes Nik Antropov, Dan Daoust, Tom Fergus, Al Iafrate, Peter Ing, Tomas Kaberle, Brad May, Ric Nattress, Dave Reid, Steve Thomas, Rick Vaive, Todd Warriner, and Tiger Williams.
Additional players to be added, and the final roster is subject to change.
The daily events inside the Gale Centre, including the alumni game, will be ticketed.
A limited 1,000 free tickets will be made available each event day on a first-come, first-serve basis, in the morning starting at 8 a.m at the Leafs mobile fanzone in the parking lot.
The limited, free tickets will be distributed starting at 5 p.m. on Sept. 16.
Tickets to all events are free with a donation upon entry benefitting the Niagara Children’s Centre.
To secure advance tickets, visit leafsnation.club/training-campaccess. Rogers customers will have the opportunity to access advance tickets through GamePlus. Customers can redeem beginning Sept. 14 through GamePlus in the MyRogers app.
The fan experience will continue outside the Gale Centre with activities for fans of all ages.
The mobile fanzone, Leafs Nation tents, free giveaways, contests, and prizes will be ready and available for visitors throughout the weekend.
Leafs hockey development staff will conduct clinics and other programming for select minor hockey groups from Niagara.
To close the camp, the team will host a barbeque to raise funds for the Terry Fox Foundation from noon to 3 p.m. on Sept. 17.
For more information, visit mapleleafs.com/training-camp.
Leafs president Brendan Shanahan said the team is “excited” to open the upcoming season in Niagara Falls.
“We’re continually looking to take our camps to different places to provide memorable experiences for both our fans and players,” he said, adding Niagara Falls follows two successful training camps in Halifax.
“We look forward to a similar experience in Niagara Falls.”
Mayor Jim Diodati said the Leafs were “thrilled” with the facility and staff, as well as everything Niagara had to offer last year.
He said following last year’s development camp, the team went on to have a successful season, with several of its young talent impressing.
Diodati said as last year’s camp was going on, he talked to head coach Mike Babcock about Niagara Falls having the highest concentration of naturally occurring negative ions on the planet.
Negative ions are created in nature when air molecules are broken apart from sunlight, radiation and moving air or water. Energy produced in moving water releases a mass of negative ions that are said to be beneficial to physical and emotional well being.
“I said, ‘if you bring the entire team here next year, I think we’re going to assure you something you haven’t had in 50 years,’” said Diodati.
The Leafs last won the Stanley Cup in 1967.
“He started laughing, and he said, ‘you know, those guys are superstitious.’ They won’t shave, they won’t change their stick tape, they do all these little weird things. I’m not saying that was what did it, but I’m sure it didn’t hurt.”
Diodati said having the Leafs back in Niagara Falls for a second straight year will create a new generation of fans, on top of the already “rabid” fanbase in the city.
He pointed to the presence of the Junior A Niagara Falls Flyers in the city during the 1960s and ‘70s, which created a Boston Bruins fanbase in the community.
The Flyers were affiliated with the Bruins.
“Well now, you get all these Leaf players here, all the kids, they’re starry-eyed, they’re all going to become Leaf fans,” said Diodati.
“And if they win it, and it has something to do with the negative ions …”
He joked if the Leafs do happen to win the Stanley Cup this season, “all I want is a ring.”
“It can be a replica, it doesn’t have to have real diamonds,” Diodati said with a laugh.