The Maple Leafs organization and all of Leafs Nation is in mourning on Monday, following the announcement that 21-year-old Leafs prospect Rodion Amirov had succumbed to his battle with a brain tumor after a nearly two-year fight.
Cancer is awful no matter what, but when it's a person as young as Amirov was who is taken from us, to say that he went far too soon is a massive understatement. Amirov sported a positive attitude and displayed his optimism right until the end, which is nothing short of inspiring, given what he had been going through - the fight of his life.
After the news had dropped, plenty of individuals had come forward to offer their condolences and support to Amirov's family, friends and teammates. Even a few current Leafs, executives and the team's former GM, Kyle Dubas, made it a point to publicly express their grief over the horrendous news.
Ilya Samsonov also offered his thoughts on the loss of Amirov on his personal Instagram story, stating that he wished he had enough time to call and to say goodbye. As you might recall, Samsonov had taken Amirov under his wing last fall during the 21-year-old's time in Toronto in between treatments. Samsonov even made it a point to bring Amirov to the Capitals' dressing room at the Leafs' home opener to introduce the youngster to Alex Ovechkin, his idol.
Amirov was only a Leaf since 2020, when he was drafted with the 15th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. But, he'll live on in our hearts forever. Rest in paradise, Rodion.
