'Makes My Life Seem Easy': American-Born Maple Leafs Defenseman Cole McWard Shares How He Learned About Terry Fox, Inspired By His Story

Ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs hosting the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, Cole McWard got the call that he'll be filling in for defenseman Chris Tanev, who is scratched for "planned maintenance."

After McWard took Toronto's optional morning skate, he spoke with the media ahead of his second appearance as a Maple Leaf.

When speaking, the Fenton, Miss., native was wearing a Terry Fox shirt, which prompted questions about the type of influence he might've had on the 25-year-old American.

"I think obviously being from the U.S., like it's a kind of story that I heard like a little bit later on in life," he said. "But, it's awesome, and it's great to honor that."

He hasn't known about the story of the iconic Canadian for very long. He learned about it a couple of years ago when he was playing with the AHL's Abbotsford Canucks, the affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks. But when he did learn about Fox and what he did, he was moved by what he accomplished.

"I'm not too familiar with it, but you know they said that he was running all the way through and battling cancer and everything," he said. "So obviously that's amazing, and for anyone to do something like that is just it makes my life seem easy to put in perspective."

On April 12, 1980, Fox started his 'Marathon of Hope,' running from St. John's, Nfld., and intending to finish his run in Victoria, B.C. He did so to raise money for cancer research, as he attempted this run while battling a bone cancer called osteogenic sarcoma.

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