"Shortly after it was announced the Maple Leafs and Red Wings will face off in the 2013 NHL Winter Classic at the University of Michigan's gargantuan football stadium, Dion Phaneuf cast his mind back to a slightly smaller fresh-air rink.

"Being fron Edmonton, having an outdoor rink in my backyard, playing with my buddies on that . . . You grow up playing outside," the Maple Leafs captain said. "Now we get to do it in front of 100,000-plus people. It doesn't get any better than that . . . It's an honour to be a part of a game like this."

As the Maple Leafs prepared to play the Flyers in a Thursday-night matchup at Wells Fargo Center, there was plenty of talk on the game they'll be playing, barring a weather delay, on New Year's Day 2013.

"I got to play in (the first) one when I was in Pittsburgh . . . I thought it was a pretty unbelievable experience," said Colby Armstrong, the Leafs forward, speaking of the Penguins-Sabres matchup in 2008 at Ralph Wilson Stadium. "