Two Vancouver Canucks players took a break from hockey to work a different job for a day.
Conor Garland and Dakota Joshua surprised some lucky fans as they spent time working at a Tim Hortons in Richmond. The two poured coffees in the drive-thru and helped serve customers who were visiting the 13020 Delf Place location.
Bumped into Garly and DAK at their side hustle #Canucks pic.twitter.com/PJR0N7zQ29
— zumana 💋 (@zoomnucks) October 25, 2024
The above photo was taken by longtime Canucks fan Allan Cruz who got a shocking surprise when going to pickup a coffee with his wife Claudette before an event. When he got to the window, he was greeted by Joshua and Garland delivering his order.
“Oh sh*t!” said Cruz when he saw who was serving them.
The husband and wife were “extremely shocked” but said that the players were very nice.
After calming down from the surprise, Cruz let out a “go Canucks go.” He said that the Canucks players even picked up their tab for the hot drinks.
You can see how happy he was to see Garland and Joshua in the photo below.
@ZoomNucks/X
Cruz then tipped of his friend and fellow Canucks fan Zumana, who goes by @ZoomNucks on X, who explained her experience to Daily Hive.
She rushed to the Richmond Tim Hortons hoping to catch a glimpse of the players before they were gone. Thankfully, they were still there and she got the following picture with Garland.
“Conor and Dakota were extremely nice and actually greeted us at the door, which was such a great surprise,” explained Zumana.
“Meeting Conor was especially special for me, as I’ve loved watching him ever since his stare down with a Kraken fan three years ago. I just wish I’d had my Garland jersey with me!”
The players “were friendly as ever” according to Zumana.
Archiving this so I can show my future short kids that they too, like Conor Garland, can make it to the big leagues 💙😭#canucks pic.twitter.com/BRDECD2Ub9
— zumana 💋 (@zoomnucks) October 25, 2024
The players’ public appearance was being filmed so expect some sort of promotion from Tim Hortons in the not so distant future.
Garland and Joshua have not only shown a ton of chemistry together on the ice, they’ve also become fast friends away from it. The two remained in close contact this summer and were planning a visit before Joshua was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
“He’s one of my best friends off the ice,” said Garland about Joshua back in training camp before referencing his friend’s health hurdles. “He’s a great guy, he’s gonna get through it. We talk a lot and right now it’s not about hockey. We’re just enjoying each other’s company.”
The good news is that the bruising power forward is expected to return to the team relatively soon. He’s participating fully in practice and looks just a few practices away from being ready for game action. In the meantime he’s clearly been keeping busy with his Tim Hortons side hustle alongside his recovery.