DETROIT – The goal lamp illuminated bright red, Cecil McMann leapt out of his seat, and a horde of men he had just met swallowed him in hockey hugs.
“I thought it was in,” Cecil says of what appeared to be son Bobby’s first NHL goal.
“I thought it went off their defender. So, they’re looking at the replays and say we got ripped off. But whatever. I mean, it’s hockey. Listen, Bobby’s here with the Leafs. It’s an unlikely situation. We’re happy. If it was your son, you’d be happy.”
You can overturn the goal, sure.
But you can’t turn over the perma-smile that’s been etched on Cecil’s face ever since he was named as a surprise late addition to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ fathers trip.
The McManns hail from Wainwright, Alberta. Population: 6,000. Oilers country. Where bison roam, kids grow up attending the annual chuckwagon races, and milk is an adjective — not the sweater sponsor of the locals’ favourite hockey team.
Yet here is Cecil, all decked out in a blue No. 74 McMANN sweater and gorging on the bottomless spoils of a luxury suite in Little Caesars Arena, soaking in an Original Six showdown and cheering on his longshot son, called up for his big-league debut because Brian Matthews’ sureshot son is sidelined.
So, no, in the big picture, it doesn’t matter much to Cecil or Bobby that a tired Leafs group dropped a 4-1 decision to the Detroit Red Wings Thursday, or that the latter’s apparent first goal was erased from the board due to distinct kicking motion — a Rule 49.2 violation.
“It sucks. I mean, your adrenalin is pumpin’, you think you got it, and then they call it back,” says Bobby, who tried booting the puck to his blade only to have it click off defender Olli Maatta’s skate and in.
“You never want to see that, but I want to get one the right way. Hopefully my first one will be a little nicer.”
That Bobby and Cecil are here at all is a pleasant distraction from chatter over Auston Matthews’ lingering injury and the midseason grind for a club whose first-round playoff opponent already feels confirmed.
Regardless how long he sticks in the show, Bobby’s unlikely tale already has a happy ending.
When the undrafted late-bloomer picked the forward-rich Maple Leafs as a free agent, encouraged by the organization’s development and attention to detail, Cecil had his doubts it would lead to a week like this one, with rookie laps and private planes and stocked minibars.
“This is hockey central, in my mind. And when he said he’d go to the Leafs, I [thought], well, you can’t cut that lineup — because it’s the Leafs. Maybe you could cut another lineup,” Cecil says.
“But if you look at the enormity of the work that kid’s put in… anybody puts in that kind of work in and gets rewarded, it’s special. It’s a special moment for him. He’s done all this. He’s dragged his dad along. It’s not me. Talk to Bobby. This kid is… he’s a good kid. I don’t want to brag about my son.
“In his mind, he knew [he’d make the NHL]. But we don’t speak about that. Because it’s not likely at 26. So, it’s not something we talk about it.”
Humility runs in the family.
When Bobby was called up from the Marlies to the big club late Monday night, he simply told Cecil: “I’m practising with the Leafs tomorrow.” Bobby didn’t suggest there was a decent chance he’d actually dress for them.
“He downplays things. That’s his nature,” explains Cecil, who suffers from airplane anxiety. “He knows I don’t like to travel. So, he felt bad about telling his dad he had to fly out because I don’t fly good. Anyways, I’m here. I’m happy to be here. The Leafs are treating me great.”
The senior McMann landed in Toronto Wednesday, bolted across the Gardiner and walked through the Scotiabank Arena gates just in time to see Bobby take warmup.
His son informed him postgame that he’d be accompanying the team on a four-night voyage to Detroit and Boston with the other Leafs’ fathers.
Thursday, the dads checked out Comerica Park, home of the Tigers, and got a private tour of Little Caesars Arena before the public walked in. Friday: A fun-filled day off in Boston.
“And they all have all this food! And, you know, from Wainwright, this is not how I live. We don’t have a lot of money,” Cecil says. “And Bobby, he’s an underdog. I mean, really — 26 years old, never drafted. He’s been cut from teams. And he just works hard.”
Too bad Cecil had only packed for a two-night stay.
“Well, I might have to wash some underwear in the hotel room,” Cecil smiles. “But I’ll make it work.”
As he slipped on that blue sweater with his own surname across the shoulders, Cecil thought of Norm Ulman and Ronnie Ellis and all those Leafs he’d watch on TV as an Alberta boy in the ’70s.
“And look it — there’s Gordie Howe right there,” he says, pointing to Mr. Hockey’s exquisite statue in the rink’s concourse. “Yeah, you know, there’s some roots here. And Bobby’s a part of that. How’s that not something?”
Bobby knows better than most what it takes to grind to the top, and he’s certain Cecil will overcome his anxiety and his luggage shortage to watch his son’s dream unfold before his eyes.
“He might have to turn some socks inside out, maybe some underwear, but he’s gonna make it,” Bobby says.
“He wouldn’t miss it for anything.”
Fox’s Fast 5
• William Nylander is in the throes of career year and certainly deserves an All-Star Game invite. He’s never had one. And with only two skater spots available in the Atlantic via fan vote, he’ll be a long shot.
“If they asked me, I would go,” Nylander says. “But not really thinking about that right now. It’s not on my important list.”
• Toronto will host the 2024 NHL All-Star Game, Nick Kypreos reports. Expect Gary Bettman to formally make the announcement at next month’s all-star weekend in Florida.
Makes sense, considering Toronto had been tabbed to host or co-host the scrapped 2024 World Cup of Hockey in the same window. Toronto last hosted all-star back in 2000.
• Yes, Keefe wanted a penalty called on Nino Niederreiter for his blindside check to the head of David Kämpf during a Predators power play Wednesday, but the coach did not make a bid for supplementary discipline.
“He’s coached to pick the penalty killer and get in his way,” Keefe explained. “I don’t think he intended to hit him in the head, but he knows what he’s doing in terms of getting in his way.”
• The Red Wings picked up defenceman Jake Walman last season from the Blues. The Toronto native is really coming into his own with the opportunity he’s getting in Detroit’s top four. His smarts, hustle and edge stand out.
Walman is a team-best plus-13 on a team with a minus-10 goal differential. This after off-season shoulder surgery.
As the Wings’ playoff chances sink to 6.2 per cent, per MoneyPuck.com, and with Walman an impending UFA on a team-friendly $1.05-million cap hit, one wonders if he could turn into a valuable trade chip.
• Justin Holl, smiling, says he gets a text from his dad, Jerry, after every game: “I think he has a pretty good read on what’s going on. But he always tells me: ‘You played great.’”
