From his booth above the ice at the Air Canada Centre more than a decade ago, former Toronto Maple Leafs public address announcer Andy Frost attentively watched the action unfold beneath him, prepared at any moment to announce a goal or a penalty.
But he broke his focus occasionally, peering over the glass barrier at the edge of his desk down to press row below him. Among the horde of reporters typing away at their laptops sat his adolescent son, Morgan, who fixated on the game with a pen in one hand and a program in the other.
Andy watched Morgan write something down, mimicking the reporters around him. Was he taking notes on the actions of his favorite Leafs players, including Kyle Wellwood and Mats Sundin? Tracking stats, just like the ones he memorized on the backs of hockey cards? Was he doodling? Andy couldn’t quite tell. Regardless, Andy knew Morgan liked what he saw and what he was a part of on press row.
“I could tell he had the aptitude,” Andy said. “Like any little kid, you know what press boxes are like. He liked the fact that he could get popcorn and bags of chips and ice cream and drinks for no charge.”
That aptitude built in the rafters of Air Canada Centre inspired an adoration for the game, propelling Morgan to an illustrious junior hockey career with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and a burgeoning professional one with the Flyers.
On Tuesday, 22-year-old Morgan will return to the home of the Leafs, now called Scotiabank Arena, to play his first NHL game in Toronto.