DARRYL SITTLER

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Darryl Glen Sittler was born Sept. 18, 1950 in Kitchener, Ont. Growing up, his favourite team was the Montreal Canadiens and his idol was Jean Beliveau, whom Sittler would play against in his rookie NHL season. As a junior, he played with the London Knights alongside future Leaf teammates Dave Hutchison and Dan Maloney. The Leafs took Sittler with their first pick in the 1970 draft and immediately showed big plans for him by assigning him sweater #27, which had been worn by another of his idols, Frank Mahovlich. Sittler struggled in his early years with the Leafs but he was still happy for the chance to be surrounded by a steady cast of veterans like Norm Ullman, Dave Keon, and Bob Baun, who would teach him all about playing in the NHL and taking pride in wearing the Maple Leaf uniform. Their presence served him well for the time when he would eventually take on a leadership role with the team. That moment came in the summer of 1975 when Sittler was chosen to replace Dave Keon as the captain of the Leafs. Sittler knew he had a tough job and had some large shoes to fill but he was detrmined to succeed and make the fans proud. From then on, he was the undisputed leader of the team on and off the ice. On the ice, he set numerous team records including most career goals and points, and he became the first Leaf to score 100 points in. His proudest moment was defeating the New York Islanders in the playoffs in 1978 in what was a thrilling series. Individually, he will best be remembered for a trio of memorable games during 1976. On Feb. 7, 1976, he set an NHL record vs the Boston Bruins by scoring 10 points in one game on 6 goals and 4 assists, a record which even Wayne Gretzky and mario lemieux in their prime could not match. That same season in the playoffs, he tied another record by scoring 5 goals in one game vs the Philadelphia Flyers. He continued his good fortune in the first Canada Cup in 1976 when his goal in OT vs Czechoslovakia gave Canada the series as well as world hockey supremacy.