Maple Leafs assist community in Thanksgiving visit to Covenant House Toronto

TORONTO -- Colton Sissons knows all about helping those in need at Thanksgiving, whether it’s the American or Canadian variety.

The veteran forward was a staple with the Nashville Predators, playing in Music City for 11 seasons between 2013-14 and 2024-25. During that time, he was very involved in the community, including handing out turkeys during the November holiday.

“We would go to parts of the city where people were less fortunate and pass them out,” Sissons said. “It felt good to lend a hand.”

Which is exactly what Sissons and Toronto Maple Leafs teammates Easton Cowan and Troy Stecher were doing Friday.

With Canadian Thanksgiving just around the corner on Oct. 12, the three spent the afternoon signing autographs, playing table tennis, painting pictures and serving meals to hundreds of youths as part of the team’s annual Thanksgiving visit to Covenant House in Toronto.

Whether it was Cowan slicing up turkey or Stecher slathering gravy over steaming mashed potatoes, the smiles on the kids’ faces as they waited for their yummy meals were priceless.

“Toronto is definitely different from a lot of other cities in terms of hockey in that the sport is always in the forefront here,” said Sissons, who signed a two-year with the Maple Leafs as a free agent on July 1. “The Maple Leafs are in the public eye, so we know we can have an impact by doing things like this.”

Covenant House Toronto has worked since 1982 to provide a variety of services, including shelter, meals, health services and employment training to youths who are homeless, trafficked or at risk. Their partnership with the Maple Leafs is approaching a decade, and in the past it has featured visits from players like John Tavares, Anthony Stolarz,  Nicholas Robertson and William Nylander.

“The Maple Leafs have been outstanding in making their annual visit to us,” Covenant House CEO Mark Aston said. “They inspire the kids here and show them there is hope.”

He used Cowan, still just 21 years old, as an example.

“Easton isn’t much older than some of the kids in here, if at all,” Ashton said of the second-year forward. “Keep in mind that some of these kids don’t feel they are part of anything. They feel they are irrelevant. When a public figure like Easton, and his teammates too, spend time with them, talk to them, laugh with them, it helps their self-importance, their self-confidence. 

“And the fact Easton is still a kid himself, they can relate to that.”

Cowan, nicknamed Cowboy, comes from the southwestern Ontario farming community of Mount Brydges, which seems like another world from the guts of downtown Toronto where Covenant House is located. That didn’t stop the country boy from eagerly wanting to lend a hand to those less fortunate.

“I went 0-3 in ping-pong,” he said with a laugh. “They didn't take it easy on me. It’s fun. They asked lots of questions like what my days are like, things like that.

“It’s been a very cool experience.”

For all involved.