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Saskatoon’s Matt Proctor was able to live out a lifelong dream on Tuesday night at Rogers Place in Edmonton — getting the chance to see his Toronto Maple Leafs play live in-person for the first time.
Proctor, who has quadriplegia, was able to go see his childhood team play after his sister Amanda Bouvier organized a GoFundMe page to help get him to Edmonton for his first NHL game.
“He’s loved hockey his whole life and he’s getting older now. He’s been in this chair for over half his life and I just wanted to see him get to this game,” Bouvier explained. “I got the idea last summer and I just made it happen I guess. I knew he’d love it and I wanted to see him there.”
Because of Proctor’s condition, Bouvier says the journey to Edmonton wasn’t as simple as just getting into a car and driving to the game.
Toronto Maple Leafs fan and Saskatoon native Matt Proctor meets his favourite player Auston Matthews prior to their big game against the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 16. Credit: Amanda Bouvier
“We had to rent a wheelchair van to get him to Edmonton and that wasn’t cheap,” she said. “We had to rent a lift so he can get into a hotel bed – we had to hire a caregiver that could travel with us to stay in the room with him so they can do his overnight care – because he has to be moved every couple hours.
“There was just a lot of stuff to think about and plan ahead before we even got to the game. The GoFundMe was basically for all of that stuff.”
That GoFundMe raised over $2,500. Some of the money was raised by people they knew and other donations we given to them at random.
While the game is all Proctor wanted to see, he ended up getting the red carpet experience when they arrived in Edmonton.
Because of a connection his sister had, Bouvier was able to get in contact with the Leafs communications staff. From there, she was able to get Proctor into the morning skate and also surprise him with a meet-and-greet with most of the Leafs players as they exited the ice surface.
“Mitch Marner came off the ice and said, ‘Do you want a picture?’ So I got a picture with him – then William Nylander came and I got a picture with him and then Auston Matthews came out and I got a picture with him and a signed puck. It was pretty cool,” Proctor said.
The puck signed by Matthews meant a lot for Proctor as that’s his favourite player.
In the first period, Matthews opened the scoring off a beautiful feed by Marner. Bouvier mentioned the Matthews goal made Proctor’s night.
“Matthews got a goal and he got to see it live. That meant everything to him,” she said.
Auston Matthews opens the scoring 27 seconds in
pic.twitter.com/cgqxj4R890
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 17, 2024
The Matthews goal wasn’t the only thing Proctor was excited about — he also got a good game between two passionate fan bases.
Throughout the game, Rogers Place was buzzing with noise as Oilers fans had to be a little extra loud since their building was half-filled with Leafs fans who made the trip to Edmonton from various places throughout western Canada.
The fan bases dueled with “Let’s Go Oilers” and “Go Leafs Go” chants throughout the night.
HUGE dueling “Let’s Go Oilers” and “Go Leafs Go” chants in Edmonton…
This. Is. AWESOME
pic.twitter.com/QVRJepXAtu
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 17, 2024
Ultimately, the Oilers ended up defeating the Leafs 4-2 after they coughed up a 2-0 lead.
Despite the loss, Proctor couldn’t have been happier to get the chance to see his team play in person.
“I thought it was incredible,” he said. “It’s a lot different than on TV and I thought it was a good game. I wish the Leafs would’ve won, but they didn’t, but I thought it was fast and cool and it was a good experience.”
Bouvier mentioned all the work to get her brother to Edmonton to see the Leafs play was worth it.
“Seeing my brother’s reaction and how happy he was. He was amazing throughout all of it and he was just so happy – that’s what it’s all about for me.”
Outside of cheering on the Leafs, Proctor is well-known in the Saskatoon community as he works with the Schizophrenia Society of Saskatchewan.
During his time with them, Proctor speaks about his experience with quadriplegia and has played a major role as a stigma buster for the Schizophrenia Society of Saskatchewan’s Partnership Program in Saskatoon since 2010.
He regularly presents to schools, hospitals, drug and alcohol detox centers and numerous community organizations.
