Leafs Watch

By LANCE HORNBY -- Toronto Sun
MADE IN RUSSIA: Maple Leafs defenceman Dmitry Yushkevich said the best Christmas present he has received was a table-top hockey game -- a Russian model, thank you very much.

"It was great, better then the ones you would get at a Canadian department store," Yushkevich said. "It had metal rods, a nice smooth board and the figures were cartoon characters from a TV show in Russia. Everybody there wanted one when I was a kid."

Goaltender Curtis Joseph is glad the team gets a longer Christmas break. The Leafs don't play a Boxing Day game and won't suit up again until Wednesday. Joseph, who has played for the Leafs, Oilers and Blues during his career, can't remember when he didn't play immediately after Christmas. He would like to see a mandatory freeze on games from Dec. 24-26.

"Your kids are only five and seven once in their lives and it's wonderful to have all of Christmas to spend with them," he said. "When you don't play Boxing Day, it means you don't have to worry about a game when you are (relaxing) on Christmas night."

Joseph always monitors his Christmas turkey intake because the melatonen in the meal can induce drowsiness which could affect him the next day.

HELPING HAND: Leafs trainer Brent Smith came home from the recent Florida trip with a unique souvenir -- a Palm Beach County Fire and Rescue Dept. sweatshirt. Smith, who was sporting the shirt during practice on Thursday, was given the sweater by Sandy Garber, a transplanted Torontonian working as a Palm Beach paramedic and a friend of the Leafs' head therapist Chris Broadhurst.

According to Broadhurst, a terrifying incident involving Garber's son has led to an interesting invention.

"A few year's ago there, Sandy's five-year-old boy got stuck on the drain of a whirlpool," Broadhurst said. "Sandy dove down to get him off, but the water pressure was something like 800 pounds per square inch. The boy was almost (disemboweled), but was saved.

"Whirlpool accidents with kids are increasing and Sandy has developed a pump mechanism that will reverse the flow of water when the negative pressure of a blocked drain is detected. Sandy has really championed the cause around that area."

BRIEFLY: Centre Kevyn Adams, who won 18 of 23 faceoffs against Tampa and Florida, tied centre Nik Antropov as the Leafs' top man on the draw against the Devils on Thursday with a 53% success rate ... A win in New York on Wednesday against the Islanders will give the Leafs their longest streak (six) in five years ... Heading into the holidays, two of the Leafs' high-scoring prospects who weren't playing in St. John's were Moncton junior right winger Warren Morgan with 43 points in 39 games and Kitchener Rangers defenceman Allan Rourke who has 18 goals and 42 points in 33 contests.

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