for the rest of the season due to an injury to his foot, when a Boston Bruin player's skate dug into his boot. With the Leafs also losing Captain Syl Apps to injury Toronto missed the playoffs. The NHL's "first dynasty" On September 19, 1946, an informal ceremony was held in which former Leaf great Charlie Conacher presented Ted Kennedy with his No. 9 sweater he had worn during his career. Conacher had been Kennedy's boyhood hero, but when Kennedy arrived Lorne Carr already wore No.9. Kennedy was initially given No.12, then switched to No. 10. When Kennedy heard Carr was retiring, he immediately wrote a letter to Leaf management requesting No.9. His Leaf teammates had always teased Kennedy about his compulsion, so they contacted Conacher and arranged for the ceremony. Conacher, now working as a broker, explaining why he was willing to take time off work said "He's a good kid and a great player. You just can't disappoint a guy like that." Conn Smythe instituted a major rebuilding campaign for the 1946–47. Gone from the team was Sweeney Schriner, Lorne Carr, Bob Davidson, Mel Hill, Elwin Morris, Babe Pratt, Billy Taylor and new additions were Harry Watson, Jimmy Thomson, Gus Mortson, Garth Boesch, Joe Klukay, Don Metz, Vic Lynn and Howie Meeker. The team was very young, with six rookies in the lineup, and was felt to be two years away from challenging for the championship. However, some of those rookies, such as Boesch and Meeker, had just returned from the war and were more mature than most. As Hap Day observed, "They'd been through real battles." Kennedy said that during this period, with all the changes on the team and with players returning from the war he had to "re-establish myself as an NHLer." Due to Kennedy's poor start to the previous season, there was some talk around this time whether Kennedy was going to turn out to be just a "wartime flash in the pan". Many of the players in the NHL during this period failed to stick with their teams once the war ended and the stars returned. However, Kennedy was one of the exceptions and he quickly became one of the team's greatest stars and a favourite of the fans. "Come on, Teeder!" was to become a familiar rallying cry in Maple Leaf Gardens. The cheer, a howl that could be heard throughout the