Right now, the best players are only available in boxes. Watch videos as often as you can and just pray for the best. Later in the season, there are more gifts and better event rewards so obtaining good players is actually possible through playing the game.
I am also in Canada. And you are right the videos are loading well again. However, you must have not been around for the past week. During that time there were ~45-second delays between videos. Lucky you!
At first, I thought there was no way that the video load delay was intentional. But now that it hasn't been fixed after they have been contacted about it I can't help but see the truth.
Very good investment. Especially for those who take brief periods of inactivity. Currently only on level 3 and took a week off except for logging in to claim gifts, park, etc. Came out of the week with an extra ~200g.