The idea of an effective two-way centre who started skating in Rouyn-Noranda should not be unfamiliar to Maple Leafs fans.

Nicolas Roy grew up under the marquee of the Dave Keon Centre in the Northwestern Quebec gold/copper mining town and thus had some nuggets for the newspapers when officially introduced at the club’s annual charity golf outing Monday at RattleSnake Point in Milton.

“A guy that played here and had success from the same region … that’s a good relation,” Roy said of Keon. “It’s fun. He’s a legend up there for sure.”

The compact Keon was signed in his early teens in the mid 1950s, a scout urging Leafs management “come and get this boy before he hurts you.”

The Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings to the punch by offering to sponsor Keon’s juvenile team as part of the bargai

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