Arizona Coyotes prank rookie in hometown return

Arizona Coyotes forward Lucas Lessio grew up watching the Toronto Maple Leafs inside the Air Canada Centre. He returned for the first time as an NHL player on Thursday night — a fact not lost on his teammates.

Lessio led the Coyotes out of the dressing room to begin pre-game warm-ups, but just before reaching the ice, Lessio’s teammates stopped. The rookie made a lap around Arizona’s half of the ice all alone.

If he wasn’t nervous before, he must have been in that moment.

Goaltender Mike Smith and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson got a kick out of the cool, yet funny prank on the 22-year-old.

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