The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the NHL's most beloved franchises. Wait, scratch that. The team is one of the most beloved franchises when you consider the scale of its own fanbase. Routinely the butt of jokes, the organization hasn't won a Stanley Cup in over 40 years, and boy are they reminded of that stat on the regular. The seemingly endless streak of disappointment has turned the most optimistic of fans into jaded followers. Thankfully, after a carrousel of inept coaching and management, things look to be on up for the franchise. The Toronto Maple Leafs posses some of the most promising prospects in the game, and have one of the smartest minds behind the bench in coach Mike Babcock. If you were to ever join the bandwagon, it would seem like a safe time to do so.
If you're a recent convert to the Leafs, however, you have some hard work to reach the status of "number one fan". That title might have to go to Kingston, Ontario native, Dave Arney. The Toronto Star profiled Dave earlier today, and he revealed that he's named all five of his children after Leafs players from past and present. The most recent of his family's additions, is Kadri Lee Amey, which derives from the squad's skilled 26-year-old centre, Nazem Kadri. The child was born on the 27th, and even recieved a special shout out from the star, via Twitter.
This process of naming isn't new to the Ameys. As mentioned, they have four other kids, all of whom share a Leafism in their title. In order of oldest to youngest, there is Justice Tucker (named after Darcy Tucker), Angel McCabe (after Brain McCabe), Domi (after Tie Domi), and Colton Orr (after the former enforcer). That's some pretty intense dedication, if we do say so ourselves. Speaking with the Star, David Amey said that he prefers naming his kids after players that show resilience, not necessarily for their star power. His wife, Misty, said that she was initially hesitant to name her children after Leafs players, and wasn't originally a fan of the sport in general. This has slowly begun to change, however. “When he first mentioned it, it didn’t sit very well and then the more I heard it, it actually sounded kind of nice. It was something that grew on me.”
No word on whether the family is planning to have more children, but if they do, maybe the Ameys can consider Frank Corrado. Maybe he'll finally get more ice-time if he recieves the honour.
