Doug Gilmour is a noted admirer of Mitch Marner, so it was natural for the Maple Leafs legend to offer his famed No. 93 to the rookie when the two met at an autograph signing session for fans.

“We did a signing together over the summer and a lot of fans came up to me and they asked the question, your 93, are you gonna let it go so he (Marner) can wear it,” Gilmour said Friday as he was launching his fundraising drive for Tragically Hip lead singer Gord Downie, who started a charity at Sunnybrook Hospital after announcing he has an incurable brain cancer in May.

“I got to talking to Mitch and the first thing I said, hey, it’s yours if you want it.”

That gesture left a big impression on Marner, a “huge” Gilmour fan growing up. Marner would go on to stardom in the OHL wearing the 93 with the London Knights, but has since worn No. 16 in his first NHL season.

No Leafs player has worn Gilmour’s 93 since it was lifted to the rafters at the Air Canada Centre during a ceremony in January, 2009.

The No. 93 was officially retired in October, when the Leafs retired 17 player numbers in honour of the franchise’s 100th season as the Leafs.

“I just remember seeing him (Gilmour) sitting there at the signing . . . I talked to him before, but I never really sat down with him and talked a lot,” Marner said at Leafs practice Friday.

“I was kind of (in awe), I went over and shook his hand, and we started talking. One of the first things he said, ‘are you 93 this season?,’ and I said, ‘nah, I think I’m going in a different direction with that.’ But he said, hey, no problem wearing it. That was a special feeling for me . . . I grew up a huge fan of him and the way he played.”

Gilmour, now the GM with the Kingston Frontenacs, said there are several similarities between him and Marner, especially since both fought through the stigma against smaller players.

Gilmour and Marner are roughly the same size, about 5-9 to 5-10. Gilmour essentially helped blaze a path for smaller NHL players over his career, which was highlighted by a Stanley Cup with the 1989 Calgary Flames, and six storied seasons with the Leafs.

“I watched Mitch as a player since he was 11 years old, seeing him come up and in his draft year, we (Kingston) were picking sixth overall and we passed on him as a small player,” Gilmour said. “Now, seeing what his skill level is and how he’s played . . . it’s kind of what I went through as a player. He proved everyone wrong. I’ve said this before, but when people asked me about Mitch, I always said he’s too good for our league (OHL), He became my favourite player.”

This week, Gilmour launched “Let’s Do it For Gordie,” a campaign to raise money for the Tragically Hip singer’s “Gord Downie Fund for Brain Cancer Research at Sunnybrook Hospital.”

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“We’re all from Kingston, and we all stick up and support each other,” said Gilmour, who is offering up personal items to donors, including signed jerseys, his Harley Davidson motorcycle, and tickets to a private box where winners can watch a Leafs game with Gilmour.

“The biggest thing is when we all found out about Gord, it was a shock. Talk about that song, “Courage . . . ” he’s a remarkable man.”

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