‘A lot freedom in a limited space’: Skaters take on the ice at Lake Devo

By Daniel Carrero and Mitchell Fox

Photos by Mitchell Fox

For some in the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) community, the opportunity to get out and be active is limited by the city’s concrete jungle. However, one spot on campus is a haven for those with a love for the ice.

Skaters from the university and its surrounding community—even across the city—come to TMU’s Lake Devo to learn how to skate, hone their craft or spend quality time with family.

For Yashy and Chris Murphy and their two kids, Akira and Apollo, Lake Devo is a comfortable local spot to get the children out of the house and embrace each other’s company. They live close to TMU and can be found with a small hockey game setup, using their winter boots as goal posts.

“We’re condo dwellers, so just outdoor space is important,” said Yashy. “Whether it’s in the summer, like the skateboard park here, or the winter version, it’s really a good resource for even those who are not students of the campus.”

Yashy said their family frequents Lake Devo over other city rinks because of its accessibility and tendency to hold less of a crowd.

“Nathan Phillips [Square is], very pretty, picturesque, great for photos, but it’s always busy,” said Yashy. “I’m not a good skater by any means. So this seems to be a little less intimidating.”

A $1.4 million donation from the Devonian Group of Charitable Foundations of Calgary made it possible for Devonian Square, commonly known as Lake Devo, to officially open on Oct. 13, 1978, as previously reported by The Eyeopener. The space is owned by TMU but has been listed as a city park since 1978, according to the university’s Master Plan in 2020.

Lake Devo is typically filled with water during the peak of the summer and used as an unofficial skatepark during the spring and fall. When winter comes around, the city freezes ice over the concrete pad, crafting the perfect place for people in downtown Toronto to enjoy a small and cozy rink to skate. It is accessible for ice skaters of all levels during the winter, from beginners like Yashy and her children to professional ice skaters like local resident and retired figure skater Merctan Pak. 

“I’m obsessed with skating…I cannot imagine a life without skating,” said Pak. “I find it very magical. It just gives you a lot of freedom in a limited space.”

Pak performed professionally with Türkiye’s national team before coming to Canada three years ago and with Nexxice, a Burlington, Ont. based team that performs at the national level. He now coaches figure skating in Toronto, having trained former Eye editor-in-chief and current investigative reporter at The Globe and Mail Robyn Doolittle. 

According to the City of Toronto, there are 60 ice rinks in the city. Pak said he has skated in over 25 of them and is still exploring. Despite walking 20 minutes from Chinatown, he considers Lake Devo his preferred spot as he enjoys the quality of ice, outdoor setting and the fact that it’s not usually busy. 

He skated circles around the small rink, putting on a show for no one but himself. At times, he carved his way through the Murphy family’s miniature arena. While engrossed in the sport he loves, he said he also tunes into his surroundings, even stopping to train newer skaters.

“I do my own thing, I put my headphones on, but sometimes I engage with people. I make friends as well,” said Pak. “I get to know people. I learn from them. They learn from me.”

The rink is on TMU’s campus, but it is inherently a community space. The Murphy family, who is trying to make it a routine to come once a week, have engaged with other skaters and hockey players there.

“Last weekend, there was another family here, and their child got together with ours, and they were just learning to play hockey together,” said Yashy.

Second-year RTA media production student Keir Patrick and his friend Nick Zhang—a University of Toronto (U of T) student—also use the space to play hockey on a smaller scale, practicing their skills with just sticks and a puck. On the first weekend of March, they helped a local kid learn how to skate while dangling the puck between each other’s feet.

“This is one of the last days of the year where we’re gonna have good ice. So I thought it would be fun to go out. TMU has this rink, so figured we might as well use it,” he said. 

Patrick also plays pick-up hockey at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Friday mornings. He shared that the recreational hockey players have their own Instagram group chat and also meet at Lake Devo from time to time. Donning a Tim Stutzle Ottawa Senators jersey on this particular occasion, Patrick was helping Zhang, who was learning to play hockey for just the second time. 

“He’s improving a lot, but he’s good,” said Patrick about Zhang. 

For Zhang, having a rink in the middle of the school grounds is new—U of T doesn’t have one on their campus—and back home on Canada’s west coast, ponds don’t always freeze. That’s why the architecture and geographic information systems student comes to Lake Devo with his friend Patrick. 

“I think it’s cool that it’s just outdoors, kind of in the university campus. It’s also close by, and it’s not super crowded and we can play with a stick and puck,” said Zhang. 

While the outdoor skating season will be coming to an end in the following weeks, Lake Devo will remain as an annual landmark for Toronto’s most avid—or not—skaters. As for the Murphy family, it’s something to look forward to next winter.

“This is my favourite rink in the city,” said Akira as Yashy encouraged her to say something on the record.