The Toronto Maple Leafs newest mega fan is a cute little cat

Carlton the Polar Bear may be the Toronto Maple Leafs’ official mascot, but as the team pushes towards securing a victory over the Florida Panthers in round two of the NHL playoffs, there’s another cat that’s been stealing the show.

If you’ve been keeping up with all the Leafs playoff pandemonium of the past month, whether from ground zero of the action at Maple Leaf Square or from the comfort of your own couch, there’s a fairly good chance you’ve stumbled upon Picchu, the team’s number one feline fan, who’s recently garnered a fan base of his own.

Frequently found at playoff game tailgates with his mom, Marina, a self-described “bleed blue die-hard” fan herself, in tow, Picchu has become something of an unofficial mascot for Leafs Nation thanks to his itty-bitty jersey and laid-back vibes — until his favourite players show up, that is.

It was Picchu’s own enthusiasm towards his favourite members of the team that got the ball rolling for his rise to stardom, Marina tells me.

“Since Picchu was a kitten, he would jump in front of the TV and follow the puck, sometimes try to grab it,” she says. So, she invested in a kitten-sized jersey from Ren’s Pets for him.

Fast forward to January of 2025, and Marina recorded an Instagram Reel of Picchu, now three years old, wearing his jersey and intently watching defenceman Chris Tanev on TV. It caught on like wildfire, amassing a whopping 1.3 million views and counting.

Then, Picchu and Marina attended the team’s annual outdoor practice in February, getting the chance to watch the action first-hand. “He was so curious and fascinated by what was going on,” Marina tells me.

There, he met former Leafs player Darryl Sittler, as well as current players Chris Tanev, Matthew Knies and Steven Lorentz, who all signed the tiny jersey.

It was Max Domi, though, who took a particular liking to Picchu.

“Domi was signing Picchu’s little jersey, and he didn’t know I had the cat on my back. I turned around to get a selfie with Domi and Picchu jumped off my shoulder and into Max Domi’s truck,” Marina tells me. “He was instantly loved by Domi.”

And the feeling is mutual, Marina tells me, because Picchu appears to have a particular affinity for both Max Domi and his father, Tie.

“Because I’ve been a fan for so many years, and I was in the era of [Tie] Domi and Curtis Joseph and [Mats] Sundin, so we would be shouting ‘Domi, Domi,’ like when Domi gets into a fight, so when Max started playing for the leafs, I started doing that again,” Marina says, “so I think he picks up on the name Domi and he associates it with hockey.”

The clips from that day, unsurprisingly, also went viral, and Picchu’s fame among Leafs Nation only continued to grow, only more steeply as the Leafs pushed deeper in the playoffs.

It’s a good thing, Marina notes, that Picchu seems to be lapping up all the attention he’s been getting like it’s a saucer of milk.

“I’m so proud of him, because he does so extremely well, and […] he’s so proud of himself too,” Marina says, “like, he just poses, he soaks up all the attention. So it’s really funny to watch him, you know. But I love that he’s so brave.”

With the puck set to drop on a particularly high-stakes playoff game at 8 p.m. Friday night, Picchu and Marina only hope that they’ll be able to continue cheering on the team all the way to the Stanley Cup.

After all, he still has yet to meet his next favourite player, William Nylander.

While Picchu, much like his fellow human Leafs fans, was gutted at the team’s lousy performance during Game 5, he and Marina are still holding out for a miracle during their make-or-break Game 6 against the Florida Panthers.

“Picchu’s prediction, they’re gonna win tonight,” Marina said hours before puck drop.

“You could tell that he wasn’t feeling it in the last game, but I think this one, he knows. He was so positive this morning.”

While Picchu and Marina plan to watch Game 6 from the comfort of their own home on Friday night, they do say that, assuming the series goes to Game 7, they’ll most definitely be watching from Maple Leaf Square.

Here’s hoping the Picchu’s feline instincts prove correct, and the city’s favourite furry fan gets the chance to cheer (or should I say purr) on the Leafs for at least another playoff round.

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