Leafs players roam Toronto streets before game but go largely unnoticed
There’s a common belief held that if you ever find yourself as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, your life will never be the same.
With a rabid media market, eagle-eyed fans, and about as much pressure as any professional athlete could be expected to have, even fringe Leafs players are assumed to have a tough time being anonymous in Toronto.
But that might not exactly be the case.
Posted up on the corner of Bay and Front streets before Game 1 and 2 against the Ottawa Senators in the opening round of the playoffs this week, fan Brian Encarnacao shared a few videos on his Instagram page of Leafs players opting to walk down the street to Scotiabank Arena rather than take a car or public transit.
With thousands of fans packed into Maple Leaf Square, the arena itself, and nearby bars, restaurants, and condos to watch the game, you’d imagine the players would be bugged by people trying to stop them for an autograph or a quick pic.
One of the players spotted by Encarnacao before both Game 1 and 2 was Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz, who wandered through the crowd largely unbothered.
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Though he wasn’t playing on the night and has yet to slot into the playoff lineup, veteran Toronto forward Max Pacioretty also seemed to go mostly unnoticed on his walk to the rink.
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Encarnacao’s Instagram feed also shows Leafs backup Joseph Woll and multiple Ottawa Senators players making their way down to the rink, again seemingly either blocking out the noise or simply being oblivious to it.
With the two teams travelling to the Ottawa suburb of Kanata on Thursday for Game 3 of the series, there’s a good chance players on both teams will have smaller crowds to navigate through prior to the next two games.
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