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WAXERS PARADE WITH MAPLE
LEAFS TO AIR CANADA CENTRE When the Maple Leafs parade their championship banners and other assorted memorabilia of the past to the Air Canada Centre from their old 60 Carlton Street home, the Markham Waxers Junior A club will also be a part of those festivities. The Waxers' involvement with the Maple Leafs stems from its past involvement as a farm team to the National Hockey League club's old major junior A affiliate Toronto Marlboros club. When NHL clubs no longer had major junior A farm teams, the Waxers still maintained its association with the Marlboros until the club moved to Hamilton for the start of the 1989-90 season. The Waxers will be one of several minor hockey teams donning their sweaters and walking in a segment of the parade dedicated to minor hockey players. The Waxers will be representing the Junior A level group. Waxers team owner Don Bremner is excited with the prospects of having his club take part in this historic event, which will originate at Maple Leaf Gardens at 11:30 am and travel west along Carlton Street to Yonge Street and head south to Front Street and west on York Street to the Air Canada Centre. While Bremner will be unable to attend the function due to work commitments, the rest of the team will be on hand.
"How could you not want to be a part of (the parade). To be connected with the Maple Leafs and be recognized is a great honour. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the boys to go," Bremner said of his team. "This shows the Maple Leafs' resurgence back into tradition even though we're not affiliated they still wanted to keep those ties. It's still nice to be a part of their program even though we haven't been for almost 10 years." Bremner first got wind that his club would be involved in the parade last Friday through team trainer Steve Horsley, who knew some people at Maple Leaf Gardens. On Monday, Bremner received confirmation from the Landmark Sport Group, who are helping to arrange the parade, that the Waxers were invited. The Waxers last played a game at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1974 in front of over 10,000 fans when they defeated a touring Russian national under-18 team 4-1. Among those who played with the Waxers in that game were former NHL players John Tonelli and Mark Napier.
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