'Baby Leafs' return to St. John's at Mary Brown's Centre

I know the Wayne Gretzkys of the world, they have these big ceremonies, but for me, this is very sentimental to be in this place and then with my son here. Does it get any better? For me, no. Before he was a dad, Nova Scotia's Donald McLean played with the St. John's Maple Leafs. He flew back to see his son, 17-year-old Fenwick, who is switching his Newfoundland Regiment jersey to the famous Baby Leafs in the farm team's honour. I'm living my dream. He's not the only one. Brian Rogers was calling games for the St. John's Maple Leafs back in the day, who played their final game here in 2005. But tonight, the Mary Brown Center is paying tribute to that team with its roster of future stars, the Regiment. They'll hit the ice in the iconic blue against the Moncton Wildcats. Hockey just brings out the best of people. You know it can be nasty sometimes but for the most part it's all about family and love and you're seeing a lot of that here today to say the least. Back after all of these years but the love of hockey hasn't gone anywhere. Neither have some of the people who were hooked by the St. John's Maple Leafs. It's really coming back to a sense of community. Carolyn Dooling, Lisa Bishop and Bob O'Donnell worked here back when the Leafs were in town and still do, with lots of memories, including when they were in the old Memorial Stadium. We came in here with the Leafs and then we transitioned into the Fog Devils and then we moved back into an AHL franchise, which was the IceCaps. The Leafs were my favourite. NL Regiment's Damien Norris will be on the ice. His dad, Canadian hockey player Warren Norris, got his start back here too. I look up to him kind of my whole life. He went pretty far in his pro career, so for me to be able to kind of grow up with him, yeah, it's super special. It's an amazing feeling. For father and son. Kind of like a mentor for me growing up. Not just as a dad, but as a hockey person. McLean was one of several St. John's Maple Leafs who was drafted to the NHL. The regiment striding in the skates of giants. And a hometown that loves the game just as much as they love the players. Lila Baldwin, CBC News, St. John's.