As the Toronto Marlies exit the ice after most games at Coca-Cola Coliseum, a young boy dressed in the team’s gear wheels a cart crammed with water bottles to the dressing room.
That’s Brody, Kyle Clifford’s eldest son.
Brody has been helping out with the Marlies when the team has played at home throughout the last few seasons. He’ll sometimes assist the equipment staff in preparing the bench before a game and helps clean up after it.
Clifford’s wife, Paige, will also bring their three boys, Brody, Ryker, and Cooper, to Marlies practice, where they will sometimes skate with their father and some of his teammates.
TikTok · Toronto Marlies1417 likes, 9 comments. “always gotta call Mom 🥰🥰”“Every time Cliffy has the chance to bring them around, they’re super nice kids and sometimes it’s fun for me to stay out for them because it makes me forget about all the other stuff,” Maple Leafs prospect William Villeneuve said.
“I just go out there and I see them having fun, and sometimes I remember and it gives me perspective that hockey’s a fun sport and we get to do this, so it’s been awesome having them around.”
There isn’t a word more significant to Clifford than family. His wife and three sons are everything to him. And in the summer of 2024, when Clifford was mulling over what was next in his hockey career, it was family that came up time and time again.
After 13 years on an NHL contract, which included two Stanley Cups with the Los Angeles Kings, a short tenure with the St. Louis Blues, and returning home to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Clifford signed his first-ever AHL deal in July 2024.
Before that, he had already spent two seasons with the Marlies; however, this move—to return to the Marlies on an AHL contract—was different.
“I think that just shows you where his priorities are. Family is really important to him,” one of his Marlies teammates, Marshall Rifai, said. “He makes every decision with his family in mind.”
Kyle Clifford’s baby takes a nap in the Stanley Cup #luckybaby LF4 pic.twitter.com/C6xWn44ei3
— Rudy (@Rudy2384) June 14, 2014
Ahead of the 2024-25 season, Rifai was deciding where he’d live in Toronto. That’s when Clifford, who already had three young boys running around, offered the 27-year-old a spot in his home.
If you’ve watched Clifford play hockey with any team, you know he wears his heart on his sleeve every night. There aren’t many players around the game who put the passion on display quite like he does.
“I think he’s really good at kind of giving you a kick in the ass when you need it,” Rifai added, “and then also pumping you up when maybe things aren’t going as well.”
Living with Clifford, though, has given Rifai a different perspective on the veteran forward.
“I ...
