Brendan Shanahan follows in footsteps of another Leaf president from Etobicoke - Ken Dryden

Both are members of the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame. And both, of course, are members of the Hockey Hall of Fame in downtown Toronto. Shanahan, 45, who grew up in the Mimico neighbourhood, was inducted just last year (2013) while Dryden, 66, who grew up in the Islington neighbourhood, was inducted in 1983.

In retrospect Dryden, who was with the Leafs until he entered politics in 2004 (on the heels of a Leafs management shakeup), didn’t have a bad run – at least by Leafs standards.

No, he didn’t get to preside over the long-sought-after Stanley Cup parade but, outside of his first season in which the Leafs again failed to make the post season, the club then put together a string of five straight playoff appearances. And in four of those years they advanced beyond the first round and in two of those years they advanced beyond the second round.

In the nine years that followed (including this season), the Leafs have only qualified for the post season once – last season.

Shanahan has already brought back the Stanley Cup to his home city – albeit as a member of the Detroit Red Wings, parading it around his Mimico neighbourhood.

It also marks the second straight year the Leafs have dipped into Mimico, having acquired in the off-season forwards Dave Bolland (on the heels of his Stanley Cup-winning goal for the Chicago Blackhawks) and David Clarkson.

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• Dec 31, 1969
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• Dec 31, 1969
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In a previous interview, Terry Chemij, owner of the Mimico’s Blue Goose Tavern, recalled a then-preteen Bolland attending one of Shanahan’s Stanley Cup celebrations in Mimico that had spilled into his eatery.

"He was just a 10- or 11-year-old kid at the time – and he got his picture taken with the Stanley Cup for the first time."

Etobicoke continues to be a pipeline to the NHL, including:

• P.K. Subban, 24, a Rexdale native, won’t likely repeat as the James Norris trophy winner as the NHL’s best defenceman, but he’s had another strong campaign for the Montreal Canadiens and was sixth in scoring among defencemen with 53 points (10g, 43a) in 81 games.

• Reilly Smith, 23, a Mimico native, is having a breakout year with the Boston Bruins, going into this last weekend with 51 points in 80 games. In 40 previous games over two seasons with the Dallas Stars, he’d managed just nine points (3g, 6a) in 40 games;

• Brendan Smith (Reilly’s brother), 25, in his first full season as a defenceman with the Detroit Red Wings, has posted his best offensive numbers with 19 points (5g, 14 points) in 69 games.