In an unexpected turn of events that quickly went viral, the Utah Hockey Club found themselves having to walk miles through Toronto to make it to their NHL game against the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday evening. The team’s bus became hopelessly mired in gridlocked traffic caused by road closures for the city’s annual Santa Claus parade, forcing the players to take matters into their own hands.
Video posted on social media by the team showed the Utah players walking along Toronto streets carrying their gear bags over their shoulders, with defenseman Maveric Lamoureux commenting that their bus was “not moving at all” in the paralyzed traffic. With game time fast approaching, the decision was made to abandon the bus and trek the remaining distance to the arena on foot.
“We were barely creeping along for almost an hour and still had quite a ways to go,” Lamoureux explained. “At that rate, we never would have made warmups, let alone puck drop. So we grabbed our gear and started hoofing it.” He estimated they walked around two miles to get to Scotiabank Arena.
Traffic Chaos Caused by Santa Claus Parade
The cause of the traffic nightmare that forced Utah’s impromptu pedestrian endeavor was the numerous street closures put in place for Toronto’s 118th annual Santa Claus parade. The beloved event draws hundreds of thousands of spectators, but also notoriously brings vehicular movement in parts of the city to a virtual standstill for hours.
While parade organizers publish detailed lists of road closures and parking restrictions well in advance, the sheer scale of the event still inevitably leads to severe congestion as motorists attempt to navigate around the impacted areas. Out-of-town visitors like the Utah team, in the city for the first time, can be especially caught off guard.
“We had no idea about the parade or the traffic it would cause,” admitted Utah’s head coach. “Our bus driver was doing his best but we were barely moving. I’m proud of our guys for taking the initiative and getting themselves to the rink on time against the odds. That’s the kind of character this team has.”
Utah Hockey Club Head Coach
Players Praised for Dedication and Resourcefulness
Despite the unusual circumstances, the Utah players were lauded by fans, media, and even their opponents for their resourcefulness and commitment to making it to the game come hell or high water – or in this case, parade gridlock.
Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe called Utah’s actions “impressive” and a sign of their character and professionalism. “For them to find a way to get here and be ready to compete, you have to respect it immensely,” Keefe said. “Once we heard they were walking, I think our whole team was rooting for them to make it.”
The Maple Leafs and their fans gave the Utah players a rousing ovation when they took the ice for warmups, in recognition of their against-the-odds journey to get there. Unfortunately for the road-weary Utah club, Toronto took advantage of their tired legs and skated to a decisive 5-2 victory.
Viral Moment Sparks Discussions on Traffic Solutions
While it ended in a losing effort on the ice, Utah’s unexpected pedestrian adventure certainly won the team a wealth of attention and admiration for their efforts. Video and photos of the players hauling their gear bags down Toronto sidewalks racked up millions of views online and had the hockey world buzzing.
The incident also caught the attention of Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who called the traffic situation “embarrassing” and “unacceptable” for Toronto. Ford took the opportunity to tout his government’s plans to address gridlock through legislation targeting issues like bike lane placement, in hopes of preventing similar traffic paralysis in the future.
Of course, this wasn’t the first time a visiting dignitary found themselves hoofing it through Toronto traffic to make an event on time. Just this past June, singer Niall Horan of One Direction fame had to walk through similar congestion to get to his own concert at Scotiabank Arena when his car got bogged down.
While Utah’s trek was born of necessity, Horan admitted he walked mostly to greet the fans lining the streets. Still, both incidents shone a light on the traffic woes that can grind Canada’s biggest city to a halt. As the Utah players showed though, when all else fails, sometimes your own two feet are the most reliable transportation.
