Sport-scan daily brief

The reaction wasn’t quite as strong for Ontario Premier Mike Harris, who was asked to perform the ceremonial first puck drop.

Jan. 25, 1995

At the Maple Leafs’ sold-out home opener against the Vancouver Canucks, dollar hot dogs were among the ways the club thanked for their loyalty during the 105-day work stoppage.

The teams began a 48-game season.

Canadian world champion figure skater Elvis Stojko and national women’s champ Nettie Kim were on hand to drop the puck while John McDermott sang the Canadian anthem.

Nov. 12, 1931

At Maple Leaf Gardens, the 48th Highlanders performed to the crowd of 13,000 during the opening ceremonies in a tradition that continues to this day. The game also marked the beginning of Foster Hewitt’s Hockey Night in Canada radio broadcasts and began a Saturday night tradition that continues on television.

Toronto Star LOADED: 10.05.2013

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Maple Leafs’ Joffrey Lupul’s five tips to be a sharp-dressed man

By: Mark Zwolinski Sports reporter, Published on Fri Oct 04 2013

Maple Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul was getting the movie star treatment — makeup, lights, professional photographers, you name it — Thursday for a photo shoot that will be available on his Lupulstyle.com website.

Lupul has partnered with noted Toronto clothier GOTSTYLE to form GameDay, a style forum where fans can vote on whether they like Lupul’s look for that particular day when the Leafs play.

For each fan vote, Gotstyle and Lupul’s charity, Lupe’s Troops, will make a donation to the True Patriot Love Foundation in support of military families across Canada.

Lupul took time out from the photo shoot to lend some fashion tips he’s learned along the way:

1. Budget: “Find a good tailor. Not necessarily (too expensive), but get clothes that fit you. Lots of people, that’s the first mistake they make, so make sure clothes fit.”

2. Colour: “I’m personally more conservative, but different things look good on different people. I think the best thing is figure out what looks best on you . . . be honest with yourself. I think it’s great to experiment a bit but not to the point where you’re too loud and you look like a rodeo clown. But it’s always good to experiment.”

3. Hats: “I end up wearing hats a lot myself, with the hope of not getting recognized around town. So I’ve got a good collection of hats. I think if you’re walking around town, just shopping or something, a baseball cap will always look good on you.”

4. Shoes: “Certainly, this is a four season city so you should dress yourself in shoes for comfort. I have three or four different pairs of boots, black and brown, and they’re broken in very well so they’re very comfortable for me. They’re good for when there’s rain or snow on the ground, and let’s face it, you don’t want to be uncomfortable when the weather is like that.”

5. Bling: “I love watches and I think one mistake people make is they have a certain budget for a watch and then they wear that watch every day, for every occasion. I think it’s important to have a different watch for different occasions . . . maybe a rubber band watch for activities, for instance, but definitely have different watches for different things.”

Toronto Star LOADED: 10.05.2013

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Morgan Rielly has outgrown junior hockey: Feschuk

By: Dave Feschuk Sports Columnist, Published on Fri Oct 04 2013

When Morgan Rielly missed most of his second season of junior hockey rehabbing from knee surgery, he also missed the bleary-eyed loop of bus trips through the prairie winter.

But that didn’t keep Rielly from waiting at the bus stop. While his Moose Jaw Warrior teammates would be rolling home through the snow, Rielly made a habit of waking to his alarm in the wee hours. He’d pull on a parka over his flannel pyjamas. He would drive to the rink around the time the team was set to arrive. Once there, he’d happily help unload equipment and chat with pals.

Never mind that it was the middle of the night, or that he was months away from strapping on skates. The best player on the squad just wanted to be part of the group.

“You’ve got to love a kid who’d do that,” Mike Stothers, the Moose Jaw coach and ex-Leaf defenceman, was saying this week. “It meant a lot to the guys.”

Two games into what may or may not be his first season with the Maple Leafs, Rielly has yet to play a shift. But the slick-skating defenceman, drafted fifth overall by Toronto in 2012, has been enthusiastically making himself part of the group. He has marvelled at the amenities at the team’s practice facilities — “All the coconut water you can drink,” he said with a giddy laugh a while back. He has gushed about the A-1 catering on the team’s charter jet: “All that food ...” The other day in Montreal he engaged in a competitive two-man workout with David Clarkson, Toronto’s other non-playing roster fixture of the moment.

With Thursday’s news that Leafs defenceman Mark Fraser has been placed on injured reserved with a sore knee, Rielly is expected to draw into the lineup in Saturday night’s home opener against the Ottawa Senators.

“He’s very close to playing,” Dave Poulin, Toronto’s vice-president of hockey operations, said on Thursday. “If and when he’s given an opportunity, he’ll make the most of it.”

While the Leafs are off to a 2-0 start, they’ve hardly been flawless on the back end. Strong goaltending has patched more than a few cracks in the defensive corps, and it’s no secret that Maple Leafs management is more than a little high on the idea of the highly skilled kid from Vancouver getting ice time.

“Morgan Rielly has looked to me like he’s come in here and ready to take a job,” Leafs GM Dave Nonis told a gathering of the team’s season-ticket holders last week. “I don’t have a problem keeping a 19-year-old player here, none whatsoever.”

Still, as bullish as Nonis has sounded, the GM has vowed that experience-favouring head coach Randy Carlyle will make the final decision on player selection.

“Randy has to be comfortable that (Rielly is) going to play, maybe not every night, but a lot of the nights, and he’s going to play 12, 15 minutes a night,” Nonis said in the meeting with subscribers last week. “That’s something we feel is going to happen.

The Leafs can get a look at Rielly for a maximum of nine NHL games without triggering the first year of his entry-level contract. Beyond that, their only option would be to send him back to Moose Jaw to play his fourth season in the WHL. The either-or scenario raises an obvious question, to wit: Wouldn’t it be best for Rielly’s development if there was a third alternative — specifically, a chance to play with the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies. Alas, that choice is currently prohibited by an agreement between the NHL and the Canadian Hockey League.

“Would it be nice to have another option? Of course it would,” said Poulin. “In a perfect world, if a 19-year-old had already played three years of major junior (as Rielly has), would it be nice to have the option of the American Hockey League on an earned individual basis? Of course.”

Poulin, in the same breath, acknowledges that scenario would pose an immediate problem for owners of junior franchises.

“I understand the CHL doesn’t want to lose its star players. That’s really what it is,” Poulin said. “But maybe on a limited basis you would have an option to do that with a player.”

David Branch, the president of the CHL, said he’s of the belief that the current system serves both his owners and their players.

“If you’re exceptional, you play in the NHL. If not, you return to junior hockey,” Branch said. “As more and more junior age players play in the NHL, hockey people certainly recognize the importance of not skimming off the next layer of talent to put them in minor professional settings.”

Branch and Stothers rejected the idea that heading back to junior would do harm to Rielly’s progress.

“There’s nothing to say that he won’t be as good (playing this season in junior) as he would have been if he’d gone to the AHL. You might even argue he could be better,” Branch said. “The risk of serious injury as a 19-year-old playing against grown men in the American Hockey League is significantly greater. There’s a lot of what ifs and wherefores.”

Rielly, mind you, played 18 regular-season games and eight playoff matches in the AHL last season — this after Moose Jaw’s campaign concluded with the Warriors out of the playoffs. Rielly looked, in Poulin’s estimation, “very comfortable.”

Said Rielly during training camp: “If I go back to junior I’m going to keep working hard, keep trying to get better. Obviously my goal is to play here in Toronto this year. But I’ll be happy either way.”

He’ll be happy even if he’s not being ideally served by a system Poulin called “imperfect.”

Said Poulin: “You don’t dwell on something you can’t have. But are there conversations about (tweaking the system)? Yes.”

Stothers, for his part, said he would clearly welcome Rielly back in Moose Jaw should the Leafs decide that’s what’s best for him. But the Warriors coach, who played 18 games on defence for his hometown Maple Leafs back in the late-1980s, sounded as though he wouldn’t be surprised if Rielly never again rode a bus with a team of fellow teenagers.

“He’s an awesome kid, an absolute gem,” Stothers said. “The thing with Morgs is, the more you hang around him, the more you want to hang around him. That’s actually my fear. The longer he’s there, the more the Leafs are going to learn to love him.”

Toronto Star LOADED: 10.05.2013

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Leafs' Fraser on injured reserve

By Terry Koshan ,Toronto Sun

First posted: Friday, October 04, 2013 08:32 PM EDT | Updated: Friday, October 04, 2013 08:38 PM EDT

TORONTO - Mark Fraser is down for the count.

The Maple Leafs placed the defenceman on long-term injured reserve on Friday, meaning he is out of action for the next 10 games or 24 days.

Fraser suffered a suspected knee injury during the Leafs' win in Philadelphia against the Flyers on Wednesday.

"(The) normal (recovery) is three-to-four weeks, whatever the magic number turns out to be," Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said on Friday.

"He will be gone from our hockey club for an extended period of time."

Rookie Morgan Rielly will make his National Hockey League debut on Saturday.

The Leafs did make a roster move, recalling forward Jamie Devane from the Toronto Marlies. Devane did not practise on a set line on Friday, instead joining David Clarkson without a centre.

"We just felt we needed another forward," Carlyle said. "Jamie had a good training camp. He has size and is a big man and we will see where that takes us."

GUESS THE GOALIE

James Reimer isn't one for giving up secrets.

Did he know the goaltending assignment for the Leafs' home opener against the Ottawa Senators?

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," Reimer said with a grin. "I'd love to answer the question, but I don't know what Randy would want me to say."

Jonathan Bernier was excellent in a 3-1 victory against the Flyers on Wednesday, making 31 saves. A night earlier, Reimer stopped 34 shots in a 4-3 Leafs win versus the Montreal Canadiens in the regular-season opener.

On the day before a game, Carlyle never publicly acknowledges which goalie gets the nod.

"That decision was made a long time ago," was all Carlyle would say on Friday.

Bet on Reimer getting the call. He has owned the Senators in his career, going 8-1-1 with three shutouts, a .949 save percentage and a 1.69 goals-against average.

Bernier has never faced the Senators.

"I don't think there is anything wrong with having whatever you call it, two number twos or two number ones," Bernier said. "As long as we are doing the job, that's what matters, and getting the wins."

SENS ON TAP

What can the Leafs expect from the Senators, who finally started their season on Friday in Buffalo against the Sabres?

"Every game we play against them has been intense," Carlyle said. "It will be a fast-paced, skating game. It will be hard-hitting -- all of the things that the Battle of Ontario has lived up to over the years. Last year was my first opportunity to be involved in it, the pace of the game, the electricity that is in the buildings, is something that separates it from other games."

Said Reimer: "They're a good puck-possession team. They move the puck well, they work well as a five-man unit."

LOOSE LEAFS

The Leafs' best defenceman through two games was Cody Franson, who missed all but the final two pre-season games because of a contract dispute. "Franny is playing the game with a lot of confidence," Carlyle said. "Probably shoots the theory that a player needs a full training camp (to be ready for the regular season). I don't want to see it, but I am sure somewhere along the line we will see some of that rust come back ... When Chris Kelly of the Boston Bruins scored on a penalty shot on Thursday in his team's 3-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning, it marked the second time in NHL history that a team's first goal of the season came on a penalty shot. The other time it happened was on Oct. 4, 2006, when Mats Sundin, then the Leafs captain, scored against Ottawa. The Leafs lost 4-1 against the Sens that night.

Toronto Sun LOADED: 10.05.2013

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Why do NHL peers keep bashing Maple Leafs' Dion Phaneuf?

By Steve Buffery ,Toronto Sun

First posted: Friday, October 04, 2013 06:05 PM EDT | Updated: Friday, October 04, 2013 06:31 PM EDT

Yet again, Dion Phaneuf is not getting any love from his peers.

In an ESPN poll published this week, the Leafs defenceman was voted the most overrated player in the NHL by his fellow players.

Last year, in a poll of NHL players conducted by Sports Illustrated, Phaneuf was voted the most overrated. The same thing the year before.

So what’s going on? Why is Phaneuf constantly getting dissed around the NHL? Is it his on-ice demeanour? His pay grade? The fact that he’s the captain of the storied Toronto Maple Leafs? Is it because he’s married to a Hollywood actress? Or is he sneaking into guys’ kitchens in the morning and doing unspeakable things to their cornflakes? It has to be something.

Phaneuf has said in the past that he doesn’t care about polls (and, frankly, many of the sample sizes are ridiculously small), and that’s fine. But all this Dion bashing is getting a bit ridiculous. After all, what exactly does overrated mean?

To be overrated, don’t you have to be on some kind of pedestal to start with? Don’t you have to be considered some kind of superstar to be considered overrated? Not a lot of fourth-line guys are deemed to be overrated. In Phaneuf’s case, I haven’t heard too many writers or fans in this market put him on a pedestal. Generally, it’s the opposite.

Leafs fans seem to complain about Phaneuf much more than praise him. Yet he keeps being voted overrated.

Poll after poll, it’s the same thing. Last year, in a poll of 161 NHL players conducted by SI, Phaneuf was named the most overrated guy in 20 ballots. This week, in an ESPN The Magazine poll of 30 “star” NHL players, Phaneuf was again voted the most overrated player, gaining 13.3% of the vote.

Surely there’s something else at play here. There has to be a reason why the Leafs D-man keeps getting knocked on his ass by his peers. As far as I know, the man doesn’t run around the Leafs dressing room telling everyone how great he is. Maybe it has little to do with how great Phaneuf is perceived to be (or not). Maybe it’s just a lot of unfair, petty crap which has nothing to do with his play. Perhaps it something to do with the following:

1. He plays for the Toronto Maple Leafs: Phaneuf skates for the most storied franchise in the NHL, which means he gets a lot more ink and air time than most guys of his skill set in the league, meaning that there’s likely some resentment amongst his fellow players.

2. He’s captain of the Maple Leafs: This, of course, brings up unfair comparisons to past Leafs captains. And when you’re the captain of the Leafs, let’s face it, you’re on an awfully high pedestal, whether you like it or not, even if that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re the best player on the team. It means you’re supposed to be a leader. In Phaneuf’s case, it’s a cross he has to bear.

3. Phaneuf makes a lot of money ($6.5 million this season): In these times, when you make big money in pro sports, you’re supposed to be great. Phaneuf probably is overpaid, but is that his fault? Perhaps to some people, that makes him overrated.

4. He’s a defenceman who once scored 20 goals: In his rookie season, no less. For years, he’s had to live up that.

5. He gets on other players’ nerves: Phaneuf is often in the mix when things go sour and he’s known to yap at the opposition as well. He’s also been accused of being a dirty player at times. All of that certainly doesn’t win him any popularity contests with his peers.

6. Perhaps it’s his name ... Dion: Kind of a splashy, showbiz type moniker (remember Dion and the Belmonts?) Maybe if his name was Butch or Rocky or Bill, he’d garner a little more respect.

7. Hot wife, lots of jealousy: Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he’s now married to a Hollywood actress (Elisha Cuthbert). Hey, if one of my high-school pals married a Hollywood actress, who’s to say I wouldn’t harbour some deep-seated jealousies?

Why Phaneuf keeps being voted the most overrated player in the NHL is probably based on a lot of petty B.S. and not because anyone in this market has proclaimed him to be the second coming of Eddie Shore.

Sometimes being the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Toronto Sun LOADED: 10.05.2013

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Morgan Rielly to make NHL debut in Maple Leafs home opener vs. Senators

By Terry Koshan ,Toronto Sun

First posted: Friday, October 04, 2013 11:46 AM EDT | Updated: Friday, October 04, 2013 06:05 PM EDT

Morgan Rielly couldn’t help but eavesdrop on a busy Toronto street corner a couple of weeks ago.

The rookie Maple Leafs defenceman was walking back to his hotel following a morning skate and heard a couple of twenty-somethings talking Leafs.

“The one guy said he thought the team should put me back in junior,” Rielly said, remembering the conversation with a smile, “and that hurt my confidence a little bit.”

Consider Rielly’s confidence back on an even keel. The 19-year-old, selected fifth overall by the Leafs in the 2012 draft, will make his NHL debut on Saturday night when the Leafs, in their home opener, play host to the Ottawa Senators as the Battle of Ontario resumes for the 2013-14 season.

Rielly’s mom and dad, Andy and Shirley, were scheduled to be on an early flight Saturday morning out of Vancouver and in the stands at the Air Canada Centre for their youngest son’s debut. But only after some quick packing and dropping Morgan’s dog off at the kennel.

“I’m hoping he’s less nervous than me,” Andy Rielly said by telephone on Friday afternoon. “But he seems to be fine with it. We’re so happy for him. It’s a great chance.”

There had been speculation Rielly would play on Saturday night no matter the status of the other Leafs defencemen, but the door to opportunity was kicked open when coach Randy Carlyle confirmed that Mark Fraser, dealing with a suspected knee injury, will be out of the lineup for up to four weeks.

As the saying goes, there’s never been a better chance, and Rielly is being counted on make the most of it.

“Just go out and play,” Carlyle said by way of advice. “Do your thing. He is a talented young hockey player. Don’t get caught up in the moment too much about this game or that game. He has played in the world junior, he has played in high-pressure situations, but it is always special when you play your first game in the NHL.”

Rielly was paired with Jake Gardiner during practice on Friday, but Carlyle indicated that the two youngsters will not play as a duo against the Sens. It could be that Rielly winds up with Cody Franson.

The Leafs have nine games in which to evaluate Rielly and make a decision on his hockey future. If he plays in a 10th, the first year of his entry-level deal goes into motion and he will be staying put. The other option is to send him back to Moose Jaw of the Western Hockey League.

“He plays the game with his head and his legs and his hands,” Carlyle said. “He has all three assets that separate him from other people in his age group. He is a strong puck-mover, he can get the puck through from the point on the power play, he has great wheels to get up and down the ice, he is smart in his reads.

“I don’t know what more I can say that does not put an exclamation point on the type of player we think he is and what he can be.”

Communication in pro sports being what it is, Rielly had not been told in certain terms by the coaching staff he would be playing. But no news usually is good news.

“It’s pretty cliche, but as a kid you dream about that kind of opportunity,” Rielly said about playing on Hockey Night in Canada on a Saturday night.

“If I got a chance to play in Leafs home opener on Hockey Night in Canada, it would be pretty special.

“I don’t really know what the next two weeks are going to bring, but it’s kind of a weird experience that I have never had before ... I’m not going to take anything for granted.”

The idea that he could make a living as an NHL player crystallized for Rielly when he was about to enter high school.

“I made a choice to go to the Prairies and play for the Notre Dame Hounds (in Wilcox, Sask.), got drafted by Moose Jaw and told myself that I wanted to be a player,” Rielly said.

“I think it has all been going well, but I have not proven a whole lot yet. I have to keep working hard and I have quite a bit of work to do yet.”

On Saturday night, as a nation watches, that work resumes in earnest.

A DREAM COME TRUE FOR RIELLY

He has not played in a game and already Morgan Rielly has made an impact on his Maple Leafs teammates.

“You can see how much fun he is having, it’s his dream come true,” Cody Franson, whose locker is beside Rielly’s at the MasterCard Centre practice facility, said on Friday.

“Everybody goes through that process and sometimes when you have been here for a while, you forget that, you start focusing on being more important and trying to develop your game and being a bigger piece. Sometimes you get so focused on your work, you forget what you are actually doing and how great it is.

“Seeing him walk around here with a big smile on his face is good for all of us.”

The poise that Rielly has on the ice carries similar weight away from the rink.

“He seems like one of those guys who is pretty cool no matter the circumstance,” Franson said. “Every time you talk to him or joke around with him, he is all for it. He is taking it all in. He is excited.”

Toronto Sun LOADED: 10.05.2013

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Marlies happy to have John-Michael Liles in the fold

By Lance Hornby ,Toronto Sun

First posted: Friday, October 04, 2013 09:34 PM EDT | Updated: Friday, October 04, 2013 09:41 PM EDT

Steve Spott can’t wait to get in his first Marlies game, while John-Michael Liles could have done with a long delay.

But the American Hockey League season opens Saturday for Toronto’s farm team and the two men are committed to making it work for mutual benefit and that of many younger players.

Spott, who has never coached at the pro level, goes behind the Marlies bench at 3 p.m. against Grand Rapids at Ricoh Coliseum. One of the veterans he’ll be relying upon the most is Liles, whose big-ticket salary was partially buried by the Maple Leafs in a salary cap move.