GRAVENHURST — Practice was a scream on Wednesday.
Nothing funny about the arduous workout at the Centennial Centre, mind you, but that the Maple Leafs were serenaded throughout by several hundred enthusiastic schoolkids in attendance brought smiles afterward.
“It was great, a lot of fun,” winger Mitch Marner said. “We got a lot of great fans everywhere we go and we always know it, too. It was a good time hearing all those chants.”
COVID restrictions last fall meant fans couldn’t get into the same building to watch the Leafs go through their paces. With each Leaf that hit the ice to begin practice, cheers grew louder. To no surprise, the loudest support during player introductions came when Marner and Auston Matthews were announced.
“Now you see a lot of more of the local faces in that get to watch our guys,” coach Sheldon Keefe said. “That adds an element to it, that we can get out and have a little more energy in the building. It was a little more challenging than normal (with the loud atmosphere), but it was good, it forced me to communicate better.”
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