Whakaotihia te rerenga e whai ake nei: I whanau a Toporowski ki Paddockwood, Saskatchewan. Whai muri i tana whakaurutanga, i haere tonu a Toporowski ki te takaro i te hockey rangatahi mo te Prince Albert Raiders o te Western Hockey League (WHL). I te Oketopa 1994, i whakawhitihia e nga Kingi ia ia, Guy Leveque, Dixon Ward, me Kelly Fairchild ki nga Maple Leafs o Toronto hei utu mo Eric Lacroix, Chris Snell, me te waahanga tuawha o te rauna i roto i te
Te whakatakoto i te tau 1996. Ko nga tau e rua e whai ake nei, i takaro a Toporowski mo te hononga rangatahi o te Maple Leafs, te St. John's Maple Leafs o te American Hockey League (AHL). I te tau 1996-97, i karangahia ia e Toronto mo nga whakataetae NHL e toru.