In this blog post, I’ll cover why I have such an interest in sports writing (and the Leafs specifically) through this blog. As always, thank you for reading, and don’t hesitate to comment ideas you’d like to see in future stories!
Hockey
I have been interested in hockey since I was around six or seven years old. At that age, I vaguely remember watching hockey with my Dad, wondering aloud who the bald one was. “He’s pretty good at whatever this is,” I thought.
The bald one happened to be Mats Sundin, on the tail end of his illustrious Leafs career, still putting up well over a point per game. While the overall team at the time was quite bad, having such an impressive player as the captain probably played a key role in my initial interest.
After Sundin left for a brief stint in Vancouver (which confused me to no end-at the time, I didn’t know that key players could change teams like that), there was a few seasons that were a real mystery to me. Ron Wilson coached the team to generally mediocre results, and the Maple Leafs of this era are far from household names (Matt Stajan? Jeff Finger?). However, soon thereafter came the Dion Phaneuf-Phil Kessel-Tyler Bozak-Randy Carlisle years, and at that point I was old enough to keep track of team news and follow the games more closely. We didn’t have cable, so I watched every Saturday night on CBC, as I’m sure many Canadian children can relate to. I had to go to bed after the second period of Game 7 in 2013, but I was content with the knowledge that it was 4-1 for the Maple Leafs, and there was no way they could lose, right? My favourite player at the time, Nazem Kadri, had just scored what I thought was the dagger, and I knew there would be highlights in the morning.
Alas, the collapse in 2013 was just a sign of bigger things to come. The Matthews-Marner-Nylander era has trotted out easily the most talented teams I’ve had the good fortune to watch, but playoff collapses have continued to be the norm. Particularly bad was the loss to Montreal in 2021-although I was ready for it. After the Leafs dropped Game 5 to make the series 3-2, I told a friend, “They’re not winning this.”
Since then, the catharsis of beating the Lightning in 2023 is a true highlight, though the Leafs have lost both playoff series after that. This year, fans have once again been drawn in, due to new coaching and a better defensive performance than the Leafs have had in years. If they win a round, or two, or more in the spring, it’ll all have been so worth it.
Writing
As a kid, in addition to being a die-hard hockey fan, I was also a voracious reader. I consumed vast amounts of fiction, especially fantasy and sci-fi. I also checked out the NHL’s “Official Stat Book” from the local library and spent hours poring over player stats, learning who was who in the National Hockey League. To this day I’m convinced that Nicklas Backstrom is one of the most underappreciated players of his time!
After reading so much, an interest in writing followed, particularly fictional short stories. I was always interested in sports writing, but didn’t have a platform or the know-how to get started. After getting an undergraduate degree (double majoring in Creative Writing and Psychology) I took a year off to work, and hatched a plan for a side project: a hobby-scale blog focused on the Leafs. Initially, I wrote game recaps after every game, but got burned out fairly quickly: Writing a recap after a late game against the Ducks in February when there’s work at 6 A.M. the next morning is not a sustainable model.
So I pivoted to more opinion based content, upgraded the website (which you’re on now) and re-branded to Maple Leafs Gazette. I am hoping to stay consistent with my content, learning and growing as I go, with the ultimate dream of writing the most elusive of stories: Analysis of a Maple Leafs Stanley Cup win.
Thank you for reading!
For my most recent post (“Analysis: Can the Leafs win the Atlantic?”), click here.