some of its best players to the war effort. Andy Lytle, sports editor of The Toronto Star, wrote of the Leaf team eliminated from the previous season's playoffs, "I do not suppose that Toronto was so weakly represented in the N.H.L. playoffs since the club originated." During training camp, Kennedy read in a newspaper interview of Coach Hap Day speaking about the best new prospects on the Leafs, but he had failed to mention Kennedy. This served to fire up Kennedy to give an even greater effort towards making the team. Toronto's first pre-season exhibition game was against the St. Catharine Saints, a senior team now being coached by Kennedy's former junior coach Nels Stewart. After the game, Kennedy approached Stewart for advice, because he was disappointed he had not scored in the game. Stewart, who was the all-time NHL goal scoring leader until Maurice Richard overtook him in the 1952–53 season, advised when facing the goaltender to "either draw him out, or pick the corner." Kennedy began the season playing right wing. Then, in mid-December, Leaf centre Mel Hill fractured his ankle. This gave Kennedy his first opportunity to play regularly at the centre position, where he remained for most of his career. In a January 8 game at Maple Leaf Gardens against the Boston Bruins, the mayor of Port Colborne presented Kennedy and Don Gallinger with gold watches on behalf of his town's citizens. Kennedy finished the season as the team's second best goal-scorer with 26 and was fourth in points. He was just 18 years old. In the playoffs, Toronto faced the powerful Montreal Canadiens. Although Toronto won the first game 3–1, they were then swept in the next four and eliminated from the playoffs. The Toronto Daily Star said of Kennedy's rookie season, "For our money the best rookie of the year though playing with one of the weakest lines in N.H.L. history." Kennedy was ineligible for the rookie-of-the-year award because of the two games he played with the Leafs at the end of the 1942–43 season. The first Stanley Cup and the great upset In only his second NHL season, Kennedy finished the 1944–45 regular season leading the team in goals and points with 29 goals and 25 assists. In the last game of the season against the New York Rangers, Kennedy's line-mates fed him pass after pass attempting to get him to 30 goals.