TORONTO — The Maple Leafs took their Thanksgiving work off the ice Friday, with Colton Sissons, Easton Cowan and Troy Stecher spending the afternoon at Covenant House Toronto ahead of Canadian Thanksgiving on Oct. 12.
- Sissons, Cowan and Stecher signed autographs, joined games of table tennis, painted with residents and helped serve a holiday meal.
- Cowan handled turkey in the serving line, while Stecher dished gravy onto mashed potatoes for the youths attending.
- Sissons joined Toronto on a two-year free-agent contract July 1 after spending 11 seasons with the Nashville Predators between 2013-14 and 2024-25.
- The veteran forward had previously taken part in turkey distributions during Thanksgiving community events in Nashville.
- Cowan, 21, is in his second NHL season and grew up in Mount Brydges, a farming community in southwestern Ontario.
- Covenant House Toronto has operated since 1982, providing shelter, food, health care and employment support for young people who are homeless, trafficked or otherwise at risk.
- The organization’s Maple Leafs partnership is nearing 10 years. John Tavares, Anthony Stolarz, Nicholas Robertson and William Nylander have also made past visits.
Sissons said community work was a familiar part of his time in Nashville, where he and teammates would bring turkeys into neighbourhoods and distribute them to people who needed help.
“It felt good to lend a hand,” Sissons said.
That sense of responsibility carries extra weight in Toronto, he added. Hockey sits at the centre of the city’s sports conversation, and Leafs players understand their visibility can make a difference beyond the rink.
Covenant House CEO Mark Aston said the annual visit gives residents a chance to spend time with recognizable players in a relaxed setting. He pointed to Cowan as a particularly relatable figure because he is close in age to many of the young people at the facility.
Aston said some residents struggle with feeling disconnected or unimportant. Conversations, laughs and simple time together with players can help build confidence and a feeling of belonging.
Cowan, known as “Cowboy,” found out quickly that the table-tennis competition was not going to be charitable. He went 0-3 in his matches, laughing that the residents gave him no breaks.
The young forward said they asked about his daily life as an NHL player, and he called the visit a memorable experience.
