 Back home , Kennedy played with the Port Colborne Sailors of the OHA Sr. league for the 1942 – 43 hockey season . The Port Colborne coach was former NHL star and Hall of Fame inductee Nels Stewart who had been hired in November . Stewart became a mentor to Kennedy , working on his playmaking skills . Kennedy credits Stewart with teaching him how to " operate in front of the net " . Kennedy finished the season second in the league , only one point behind scoring champion , Dillon Brady of Hamilton . It was during this time that Kennedy would have debuted as a player at Maple Leaf Gardens . OHA senior teams played at the Gardens on Friday evenings and this included Kennedy and the Port Colborne Sailors . At the end of the season , in early February 1943 , in spite of his having abandoned the Royals , Montreal scout Gus Ogilvie was sent to induce Kennedy to sign a contract with the promise that if he signed he would finish the season with the Canadiens in the NHL . Concerned about his treatment in Montreal , he declined , despite being warned by Ogilvie , " Well , you know , Ted , if you turn pro , it will have to be with the Canadiens . " Kennedy now thought his dreams of playing in the NHL were over . However , Nels Stewart believed in Kennedy , considering him " a coming great " , and recommended him to the Toronto Maple Leafs . Shortly thereafter , Kennedy was called out of his grade 11 Latin class to the Principal 's office . Kennedy , the high school student , was at first worried about what he may have done wrong , but it turned out to be a phone call from Nels Stewart . Stewart had arranged a meeting with General Manager of the Leafs Frank Selke and Kennedy would have to travel immediately to Toronto . Unlike Montreal , the Maple Leafs had someone there to meet Kennedy when he got off the train . Kennedy signed a contract that evening . 
