Maple Leafs visit veterans center for Remembrance Day

TORONTO -- Richard Ratcliffe, a 96-year-old Canadian Navy veteran, was ecstatic to welcome members of the Toronto Maple Leafs to Sunnybrook Veterans Center on Wednesday.

A big Maple Leafs fan, Ratcliffe, who has been at the Veterans Center for nine years, said he always relishes the chance to meet members of his favorite team in person. But to get the chance to congratulate them less than 24 hours after a 4-0 win over the archrival Boston Bruins at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday, a win that ended an eight-game regular season losing streak against the Bruins, made it even more special.

“We finally did it,” Ratcliffe exclaimed as he addressed the assembled crowd on behalf of over 200 veterans and healthcare workers.

Forward Steven Lorentz and defenseman Jake McCabe along with alumni Shayne Corson and Darryl Sittler attended the event ahead of Remembrance Day on Nov. 11 for a half hour panel discussion and a meet-and-greet with residents of the facility.

“It was a no-brainer when I was asked to be a part of something like this,” Lorentz said. “It’s definitely a very humbling experience to be able to be here.”

While Lorentz grew up in Waterloo, Ontario, about an hour west of Toronto, McCabe is from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. However, despite being from the United States, McCabe said it was overwhelming to be in the presence of so many veterans who have sacrificed so much.

“It’s amazing,” McCabe said. “It is thanks to them that we have the freedom to play the game we love and it’s special to be here amongst such a great population of veterans. They told us beforehand there are over 50 veterans who are over 100 years old and that’s just incredible to be in their presence.”

Born in 1928, Ratcliffe joined the navy in 1945 at 17 years old and attended Royal Roads Naval College graduating as a midshipman. In 1950, he served in the navy in the Korean War, stationed on a ship for nine months.

That the Maple Leafs continue their longstanding partnership with the Canadian Military, Ratcliffe said, means the world to the veterans who live at the facility.

“When you just think about it, they played a hard game last night and they took the time to come and spend it with us this afternoon,” Ratcliffe said. “What more can you ask from a couple of our Toronto Maple Leafs players?”

Ratcliffe, to show the appreciation of the veterans to the Maple Leafs for their visit, gifted each player with a Johnny Bower Arms beer mug from the Veterans Pub at the facility.

“It’s pretty cool, I might have to break that in when we get our next off day,” Lorentz said. “It’s special. Johnny Bower is a legend here so that was a very nice little touch.”

Bower, who spent 12 seasons with the Maple Leafs, backstopping the team to four Stanley Cups, served with the Canadian Army from 1940 to 1943 during World War II, stationed in England as a gunner. A longtime supporter of the Sunnybrook Veterans Center, the pub was renamed in Bower’s honor in 2019 after his passing on December 26, 2017.

“The money for the beer mugs came from the Johnny Bower foundation,” Ratcliffe explained. “They gave us $1,000 to do something with and we thought and thought, maybe we can have a beer together if we have beer mugs made. So we had them made for our pub.”

Ratcliffe said that he is anticipating the day when he and his fellow veterans can gather at the Johnny Bower Arms to watch their favorite team win something even more important than a game against the Bruins.

“The Stanley Cup is what I look forward to,” Ratcliffe said. “I’ll be disappointed if we don’t win the Cup this year, put it that way. I think we are on a roll. We’re just on the verge of winning the Cup.”