Hundreds of students pack Muskoka arena to watch Toronto Maple Leafs hit the ice

Hundreds of students, some wearing blue and white, packed the stands at the Muskoka Lumber Community Centre in Bracebridge, Ontario.

Hundreds of students, some wearing blue and white, packed the stands at the Muskoka Lumber Community Centre in Bracebridge, Ont., to watch some of their favourite NHLers hit the ice.

The Toronto Maple Leafs brought training camp to cottage country on Wednesday for a one-hour practice at 10:30 a.m. Roughly 800 students from surrounding schools were invited to attend the session.

“The stands are always filled with kids and people come to watch, and it’s awesome,” said Leafs’ Captain Auston Matthews. “The atmosphere is always fun coming here, and I think they enjoy it as well.”

“It’s a really important think to get guys together like this,” said Leafs’ Head Coach Craig Berube. “They can loosen up and have some fun, so it is a real good trip in my opinion.”

One hour after practice wrapped up, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ X (formerly Twitter) page posted a simple caption, reading, “Up north.” Shortly after, another post followed, captioned “Today’s office,” with images of the team on the ice at the Muskoka arena.

The players took some time to sign autographs for the kids after, to the delight of many in the crowd who had the chance to watch their idols show off their skills on the ice rather than spending the morning in the classroom.

“It’s pretty awesome,” said fan Henry Fiorini. “I got to see them up close and sit really close to them.”

“It’s really fun. I love the Leafs, my favourite hockey team, and I’m just glad to be here today,” added fan Carter Pegg.

The event was not open to the public.

This visit wasn’t the team’s first trip to Muskoka, however. Last year, the Leafs held a training session at the same venue, wowing 300 students with their skills and drills.

The 113,000-square-foot community centre officially opened in August last year and features an NHL-sized rink.