The Maple Leafs took a moment as their morning skate wrapped up Thursday to line up around captain John Tavares, who spoke a few words of encouragement into a camera to a person they hardly know: Rodion Amirov.
The Leafs鈥 highly regarded first-round pick from the 2020 draft recently announced he had a brain tumour, that his KHL season was over, and that he was undergoing treatment in Germany.
His future teammates wanted to send him a video to show they cared.
鈥淗e鈥檚 part of the family here with the Maple Leafs, and we think very highly of him,鈥 said Tavares.
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It鈥檚 likely Tavares is one of the few Leafs who actually met Amirov. The prospect was in 色色啦 last May for Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens. Tavares missed the game with a concussion. COVID protocols at the time meant everyone had to keep their distance, so Amirov couldn鈥檛 meet the active Leafs.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if it was during the playoffs, or shortly after, but I said hi to him,鈥 said Tavares. 鈥淛ust a great smile. You could just tell his enthusiasm for being here, being a Maple Leaf and what the opportunity presents, especially with his skill set and the type of player he is and how he would fit into our group.鈥
After the Leafs announced what had sidelined Amirov, the player said he received 鈥渢housands鈥 of messages of support.
鈥淚 want to say a huge thank you to everyone for the words of support,鈥 Amirov wrote on his Instagram account, according to the app鈥檚 translation from Russian. 鈥淵ou blew up my DM, I didn鈥檛 really expect that.
鈥淵es, these are difficult times but I am convinced that victory is near, especially with such support.鈥
Part of the reason he said he鈥檚 able to stay positive as he goes through chemotherapy in Germany is his faith that will 鈥渉elp me to overcome all the obstacles and win.鈥
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Coach Sheldon Keefe, who hasn鈥檛 met Amirov, was impressed with how the 20-year-old is handling everything.
鈥淭he most important thing is just the attitude that he is taking in this, to set an example for others that are going through things, but also to help fuel his fight through this,鈥 said Keefe. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a terrible situation, but he seems to be handling it very well, and I know he鈥檚 got lots of love and support around him.鈥
Kevin McGran is a Star sports reporter based in 色色啦. Follow
him on Bluesky聽@kevinmcgran
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