Brady Leavold, former professional hockey player, is the first to admit that he was “a promising player whose addiction and mental health issues sealed my fate.”
On his website, ‘for the love of hockey‘ he describes his first encounter with drugs.
“At the age of 16, I signed with the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League and made the team at 17. I was even named the team’s rookie-of-the-year despite leaving during the season for a short period of time for what would now be considered a mental-health leave. After just seven games in my second season, I packed up my 1990 Ford Ranger and drove 14 hours straight back to Port Coquitlam without saying goodbye to any of my teammates.
And it was then that my life took a dramatic turn. Shortly after returning home, I was introduced to drugs for the first time and my life was never the same again. As is the case with everyone who struggles with this … I was an addict waiting to happen.”
While he came ever-closer to his dream of being in professional hockey, off the ice his life was spiralling out of control.
Leading into his first year pro year with Tampa Bay, his addiction took over and, when it came time for training camp, he was completely unprepared to take on the world’s best at Tampa Bay’s camp and then in the American Hockey League.
Four games into his first season, he suffered a knee blow-out that not only sidelined him for three months, it also led him down the road to OxyContin painkillers designed to manage physical pain. Unfortunately, for Leavold it was also a crutch for emotional pain and one that would result in the end of his hockey career as he fell into the depths of addiction, using heroine, cocaine, fentanyl, living on the street, attempting suicide and ending up in prison.
But, in 2020, having moved from the West to Orillia in Ontario, he once again put on his “… skates for the first time in close to a decade and that’s when everything changed for me on a path to recover. I decided to start a podcast that focused on my recovery, but I had absolutely no clue where to start. I took a chance and was brutally honest. I am so lucky and grateful for the response I received. Sportsnet and The Hockey News picked up my story and the support started to pour in.”
His podcast called “Hockey 2 Hell and Back” features guests who join him to chat about hockey but also about mental health, suicide, addiction, and depression.
Following the death of a hockey colleague from a drug overdose, Leavold established the ‘Puck Support Network’ for everyone involved in the hockey community. Puck Support provides resources, support and education to everyone throughout the hockey world, whether they’re players, coaches or parents.
He has also recently launched a Puck Support clothing line. Each piece of clothing has a memory of one of the individuals from the hockey community that we have lost related to mental health or addiction. Each article of clothing is embossed with the name of someone the hockey world has lost.”
“Mental health and addiction are complex and serious issues, that are not easy to discuss,” adds Leavold, who now makes it a priority to communicate with young athletes as much as he can.
On Thursday, March 9th, Leavold will be speaking at 6:30 p.m. in Port Elgin at the Rotary Hall in the Plex. The event is FREE however, donations would be welcomed and will go to WES for Youth, an on-line counselling service for youth ages 13 – 24 that was founded by the Cameron family following the suicide death of their 16-year-old son, Wes (Wes’ story).
An event sponsored by Bruce Power, Gord’s Imprints and Design and Saugeen Shores Minor Hockey Association.
