 Kennedy played with the Port Colborne Lions in the Ontario Minor Hockey Association as a bantam , midget and juvenile . His nickname " Teeder " is a short form of his real name which was used by other neighbourhood boys because they could not pronounce " Theodore " and was overheard by a local reporter with the Welland Tribune . During Kennedy 's NHL years , newspapers often used the spelling " Teeter " . Kennedy was captain of the midget Port Colborne Lions when they won the O.M.H.A. Championship in 1941 . The Toronto Star described the 15 @-@ year @-@ old Kennedy as a " shifty rightwinger " who had " paced the Lions to victory , scoring five goals , two of which were solo efforts . " On May 7 , 1941 , at a banquet in Port Colborne honouring the championship team , one of the speakers was Hap Day , coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs . He spoke to the players , advising them that " keen desire " and " hard work " was required to get to the top in hockey as in any job in life and that hockey salaries were " equal to other leading professions " . Day then presented members of the team with jackets bearing the championship crest . In only two years , Kennedy would be playing for Hap Day 's Toronto Maple Leafs . 
