Hockey Fans Have Thrown Over 100,000 Teddy Bears in a Single Game

Every December, thousands of hockey fans pack their bags with stuffed animals and wait. They wait for one moment - the home team's first goal - then hurl everything onto the ice at once. The resulting avalanche of bears, bunnies, and plush toys has to be seen to be believed.

A Teddy Bear Fell Off a Shelf

The tradition was born in Kamloops, British Columbia, in December 1993. Don Larson, marketing director for the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League, was sitting at home when a truck rattled past and knocked a small teddy bear off his mantle. The idea hit him immediately. He pitched it to management, got reluctant approval, and set up a collection point for the bears fans would bring. He expected around 200. When defenseman Brad Lukowich scored the first goal on December 5, 1993, fans launched over 2,400 stuffed animals onto the ice. Larson knew something special had just started.

From Kamloops to the World

The tradition spread from junior hockey across Canada and the United States, then globally. Minor-league teams, AHL clubs, and even football and basketball organizations adopted their own versions. The rules are simple: fans bring stuffed toys, the home team scores its first goal, and a blizzard of plush animals rains down on the ice. All of it goes to children in need. The Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League began their annual GIANT Teddy Bear Toss in 2001 and quickly turned it into a signature event.

The Record That Stopped the Clock

On January 5, 2025, a sold-out crowd of 10,514 packed Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, each carrying stuffed animals. When Mike Sgarbossa scored to tie the game at 14:45 of the first period, the ice disappeared. More than 102,343 stuffed animals - the hockey world record - flooded the rink, taking nearly 90 minutes to clear. The Bears went on to win 5-1. The stuffed animals were donated to more than 35 local organizations, including Schreiber Pediatric, Vista Autism Services, the Central PA Food Bank, and the Milton Hershey School. Since the event began in 2001, the Hershey Bears have collected more than 566,000 stuffed toys in total.

Why It Works

The teddy bear toss endures because it turns a single hockey goal into a community act. One moment connects a sold-out arena, thousands of children, and more than three decades of tradition. The NHL itself discourages the practice at the professional level over ice-safety concerns - which makes the minor-league and AHL versions feel even more special. Every stuffed animal is chosen, brought in, and launched on purpose.