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A first overall NHL draft pick coming home to Ontario to play the Maple Leafs is a match made in heaven.
Or hell, if you're wearing blue and white.
In the tradition of Eric Lindros, Dale Hawerchuk and Joe Thornton, here comes Markham-born Steven Stamkos in tonight with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 2008 top pick has 16 points in 12 games and two points in a pair of ACC dates already.
"I still have a lot of friends and family coming to the game (about 50 tonight), so it's definitely one I had circled on the calendar," Stamkos told the St. Petersburg Times. "I know there's going to be a lot of media. But having gone though that first year, I kind of know what to expect now."
Ex-Leafs assistant Paul Dennis has a good handle on why the first-rounders get so hyped to come back.
"No. 1, it's the social standpoint of thanking a lot of people for their support," said Dennis, who retired as Leaf sdevelopment coach this year to become adjunct professor of sports psychology at the University of Toronto and York U.
"No. 2, it's being on stage in the hockey mecca and No. 3, you're drafted that high, you want to show Toronto what it could've had, even though the Leafs aren't always in control of their draft picks.
"It could be a huge distraction for any of the (top picks), but most never allow it to be."
Which begs the question why some Toronto-area players on the Leafs haven't embraced the same spotlight through the years. Matt Stajan, John Mitchell and last year's first pick Nazem Kadri look well adjusted, but without naming names, Dennis said he had to work with many players to try to get them comfortable in their own city.
"One reason is they choose not to be, they lose focus, they have trouble dealing with distractions and they go down the path to struggling," Dennis said.
The Lightning was a foundering club at the start of last year, but have stabilized.
Stamkos has been the beneficiary.
"Everybody was asking me why I wasn't scoring last year and I think maybe they'll be asking me why I am this year," he said.