He was number one,” said Hillman, who played defence on the last four Maple Leafs Cup teams as part of a 22-year career with 10 teams in the NHL and WHA. He loved Johnny Bower, like everyone ever. But his casket was draped in a Maple Leafs flag, under his banner, and his grinning, rough-hewn, Ukrainian Prairie face was beamed onto giant screens behind the dais. “Johnny considered it a privilege, and not a right, to be a Toronto Maple Leaf,” said Ellis. And Johnny Bower was loved, right to the end.

Source: thestar January 04, 2018 00:22 UTC