Knowing his Toronto Maple Leafs were heading toward a grueling part of their schedule, coach Mike Babcock called 27-year-old defenseman Jake Gardiner into his office last week with a challenge.

The Maple Leafs were looking at five games in seven days, but with one of their rare off days in Minnesota, Babcock wanted to know whether Gardiner, a Minnetonka native, could help secure ice time on an outdoor rink for a little local fun while the team was in the State of Hockey.

So Gardiner texted his dad, John, for help. Most of the outdoor rinks they thought of were too far from St. Paul for the Maple Leafs, who play the Wild at Xcel Energy Center at 7 p.m. Thursday. Related Articles Bob Nevin, won 2 Stanley Cups with Maple Leafs and played 2 seasons with North Stars, dies at 82

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Then they stumbled on the perfect place: the temporary Wells Fargo WinterSkate rink, set up for the winter right next to Rice Park and the team’s hotel.

The Gardiners hooked up the NHL’s most storied franchise with an outdoor rink in downtown St. Paul on Wednesday afternoon, and players forgot about their troubles for a day during an impromptu 3-on-3 tournament.

“That was a blast,” Jake Gardiner told reporters.

To ensure a light atmosphere before the Leafs play back-to-back games starting Thursday, Babcock called in local goalies to man the nets for Wednesday’s competition.

Lakeville South goalie Henry Welsch, 17, protected the net on one end of the ice. On the other was Luke Fry, 19, an Indiana native who plays for the Willmar Warhawks, a junior league team in the NA3HL. They were invited by Leafs goalie coach Steve Briere, who had worked with them before.

“They were pretty good,” Gardiner said of the two goalies.

John Gardiner brought one of Jake’s youth trophies for the team to play for in the in 3-on-3 tournament. Not the Stanley Cup, but good enough.

“I think he was probably the most excited guy out there,” Jake Gardiner joked of his trophy-wielding dad.

Babcock, the Stanley Cup winner who is the highest-paid coach in the NHL, served as linesman for the tournament.

“I think this got us re-energized,” Jake Gardiner told reporters. “We had some laughs and now we’ll get back at it tomorrow.”