Toronto Maple Leafs Archives - The Pictou Advocate

The Canadian teams making it exciting

March 24, 2021March 24, 2021Hugh Townsend

The National Hockey League, like everything else that matters in our world, couldn’t escape when COVID-19 swept across North America just over a year ago. The pandemic took on the 100-year-old league at centre ice and won. The repercussions disrupted the 2019-20 season far more than even a world war could 80 years earlier. It...

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The NHL goalie who didn’t come to town

February 3, 2021February 2, 2021Hugh Townsend

Behind the scenes, in the manager’s office at New Glasgow Stadium, a potent coup for the New Glasgow Rangers and their Pictou County fans appeared imminent. Being present during negotiations, I was convinced the necessary elements were in place to have a pretentious signing by the local Nova Scotia Senior Hockey League club. A goaltender,...

Both father and son shone in their roles

January 27, 2021January 26, 2021Hugh Townsend

The difference between the “almost right word” and the “right word” is really a large matter. It’s especially true when writing is your profession and passion. I can’t, however, take credit for piecing together those 16 words. That advice came from 19th century American writer and humorist Mark Twain, creator of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry...

Flash: the lesson has been learned

January 11, 2021January 11, 2021Hugh Townsend

I had an English teacher at New Glasgow High School who used to tell me that a day without learning something is a day lost. I’ve tried to live by her advice ever since. Just this past week, while I was researching for a column I hope to write during the holiday season, I got...

For two prospects, it was game over

January 11, 2021January 11, 2021Hugh Townsend

It’s often been said that luck and fate are the same thing. For two young hockey players who grew up in New Glasgow’s south end — a quarter of a century apart — it was clearly fate that intervened in their lives and dreams. In both cases, it ended their chances of having professional careers,...

‘A new day dawning’ for Maple Leafs?

January 11, 2021January 11, 2021Hugh Townsend

I’m beginning this week’s column with some friendly advice: Embrace the 1,000 words with a wee bit of caution. Alright, the more caution, the better. My observations are expressed — free of charge, of course — with excessive optimism by an old soul who has been a card-carrying Toronto Maple Leafs fanatic for 74 years....

It’s not possible for everyone to be first

October 29, 2020October 29, 2020Hugh Townsend

The Sunday morning sermon was a game winner. Like many of the congregants of Woodlawn United Church in Dartmouth, rather than sitting in a pew wearing a mask, I was at home watching the live virtual service on my iPad. That’s a religious exercise seven months into COVID-19. The guest preacher was Padre Roland Murray,...

Face masks, fantasy and a homeless team

July 29, 2020July 29, 2020Hugh Townsend

The thermometer beside my desk was telling me the outdoor temperature was far too high and the indoor conditions were just as bad. The humidity, outside and inside, was beyond unbearable. My neighbours, still scared to death because of COVID-19, were doing what they’ve been doing for over four months — staying out of sight....

Oh what some sports fantasizing can do

June 17, 2020June 17, 2020Hugh Townsend

Tell me something — honestly. After three months of no live hockey, no live basketball, no live baseball on that big screen in your living room or den, how have you been spending your evening hours? I’ve posed that question more than once to Dave Scott, my dear friend and retired school teacher in New...

Brian Burke to be keynote speaker at reception

August 1, 2018August 1, 2018Pictou Advocate

The Weeks Crushers Jr A Hockey Club, in partnership with the Pictou County Wellness Centre, are bringing one of hockey’s biggest personalities to town. Brian Burke will be the keynote speaker for a reception and dinner on September 18. As part of the evening, the Crushers will unveil their team captains for the 2018/19 season....

Tag: Toronto Maple Leafs

The Canadian teams making it exciting

The NHL goalie who didn’t come to town

Both father and son shone in their roles

Flash: the lesson has been learned

For two prospects, it was game over

‘A new day dawning’ for Maple Leafs?

It’s not possible for everyone to be first

Face masks, fantasy and a homeless team

Oh what some sports fantasizing can do

Brian Burke to be keynote speaker at reception

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