Ice Storm

Tucked amid the old deciduous trees and twinkling lights of High Park is one of the city’s most scenic ice rinks. It’s also the facility of choice for Toronto’s top dog, David Miller. In fact, he tries to play hockey once a week, usually a game of shinny with his son and daughter. You’d know him by his Maple Leafs jersey (it says “Miller” and number “1”) and, in line with policy instituted on his watch, his CSA-approved hockey helmet.

One recent Wednesday evening, Miller got to witness helmet enforcement in action. As the mayor was waiting for ice time, a group of bare-headed teen­agers arrived looking to join in. The eagle-eyed rink guard, Silvio Sam Cachia, who’s been surveying the park’s frozen grounds for 22 years, approached and gave them the spiel: no helmet, no ice. The boys bitched and moaned, then threatened Cachia with retribution. “We’ll be waiting for you in the parking lot,” they said.

Cachia sweated bullets in the staff room overlooking the rinks, even calling the cops, though the men in blue never showed. In the end, he made it safely past the hostile teens still loitering in the parking lot. All talk, no action—when it’s not coming from the mayor’s office—can be a good thing.—Antonia Greene