Leafs legend Mats Sundin visits North Bay mall to promote new book, sign autographs

Former Leafs star Mats Sundin in northern Ontario Former NHL and Toronto Maple Leafs Legend Mats Sundin is touring northern Ontario to promote new book and meet fans.

There was a sea of blue and white lining the corridors of the Northgate Shopping Centre on Friday evening.

Toronto Maple Leafs fans were eager to meet one particular Leafs legend -- Mats Sundin.

The former NHLer and Leafs captain is touring northern Ontario to promote his new book, Home and Away.

In the memoir, Sundin shares his memories of growing up playing hockey in Sweden and then across North America with the Leafs.

"We played in L.A. or Tampa or Florida and half the building was Maple Leafs fans," Sundin chuckled, describing the support for the team.

"The Toronto Maple Leafs are an institution."

Growing up in Sollentuna, Sweden, on the outskirts of Stockholm, Sundin skated on the lake downhill from his house.

In the darkness of the Scandinavian winter, he would often chase after his older brother on that lake for countless hours.

He also writes about what it was like to uproot his life in Sweden to embark on a long hockey career across the Atlantic Ocean.

Sundin’s favourite memory of playing in the NHL with the Leafs was during playoff fever.

"I can still see it if I close my eyes. I’m driving down to the rink and it’s early May," Sundin smiled.

"The whole city is wearing the blue and white and some above their suits going to work on Bay Street. Yonge Street filled with thousands and thousands of fans, and the kids painted Maple Leafs on their faces."

Sundin spent 13 seasons with the Leafs in his illustrious career. Before that, he was with the Quebec Nordiques.

He was traded to the Leafs for fan-favourite Leaf captain Wendel Clark. He said that in his first years in Toronto, he worked hard to gain acceptance in the world's toughest hockey market.

Salming was a mentor

Sundin said he always looked up to the late Borje Salming, another Maple Leafs legend from Sweden. He was attending Salming’s hockey school when he got the news that he was going to be a Leafs forward.

“(Salming) said, 'Mats you’re coming to the best team in the world to come play hockey,'" Sundin said.

"He was a mentor for me my whole career."

After his time with the Leafs, Sundin was signed by the Canucks for a brief stint in Vancouver at the end of his career.

He has a simple message in the book for hockey parents and parents with kids in other sports.

"Don’t put too much pressure on the kids early on," he said.

"The pressure and seriousness of the games are going to come soon enough when they get a little older … That’s one big message."

Sundin recorded more than 1,300 points in his illustrious career, winning an Olympic gold medal with Sweden in 2006.

His last stop on his Home and Away' tour will be in Sudbury at the Indigo bookstore Saturday at 11 a.m.