MARKHAM—Manitoulin’s Reggie Leach was awarded a King Charles III Coronation Medal, with the award being pinned to his lapel during an event held at this year’s Little Native Hockey League (LNHL) tournament held in Markham. The event was held during a vendor’s gathering so as not to infringe on the LNHL awards.
“Little NHL is all about the kids,” he insisted.
A former NHL hockey star, Reggie Leach was one of the first Indigenous hockey players to have his name engraved on the legendary Stanley Cup, going on to fame as the “Riverton Rifle.” In his 13 seasons with the NHL, Mr. Leach played for the Boston Bruins, California Golden Seals, Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings between 1970 and 1983. But his hockey career is best known for his time in Philadelphia, winning a Stanley Cup with the Flyers in 1975.
But his hockey career played second line to the real reason he was nominated and honoured with the medal. Rather it was Mr. Leach’s activities over the intervening four decades since he left the NHL that came front and centre.
“Reggie Leach certainly has made a difference for so many people and especially young people who see themselves taking their place in hockey,” said Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing MP Carol Hughes. “I did get a submission for the medal for Reggie and I just want to say that there were 30,000 medals given out across Canada, which not a lot of medals when you look at the breadth of our country.”
“His contributions extend far beyond his accomplishments in the sport,” said Ms. Hughes. “He has devoted his time since the NHL to encourage Indigenous youth in the choices they make, and to be kind his impact on the lives of Indigenous youth is truly remarkable. He also raises funds for various causes and not-for-profits.”
Ms. Hughes noted that Mr. Leach’s list of contributions to youth and hockey extend far beyond the limited citation that goes along with the medal, “but in order for the Governor General to approve the medals we had a very limited amount of opportunity to provide information on the recipient.”
Ms. Hughes noted that 5,000 of the medals went to the military, while another 5,000 went to members of the public service, with 20,000 going to different organizations and entities.
“I happen to have 20 medals that I was able to hand out, and so I took nominations from across the riding for those 20 medals, and Reggie was one of them,” she said. “This is what I received for Reggie. ‘Reggie Leach is one of the first First Nations professional hockey players to have his name engraved on Stanley Cup, the NHL’s highest prize, but his contributions extend far beyond his accomplishments in the sport. He has devoted his time since the NHL to encourage indigenous youth in the choices they make. The impact he has made on the lives of Indigenous youth is truly remarkable. He also raises funds for various causes and not-for-profits. I know the list is much higher than that, but in order for the Governor General to approve the medals, we had a very limited amount of opportunity to provide information on the recipient.”
“Thank you for your timeless advocacy for and commitment to Indigenous youth and to various causes you give so much of yourself to, your selfless dedication in supporting, inspiring and empowering young people, as well as your immense contributions to First Nations communities and organizations alike, is truly remarkable and appreciated,” said Ms. Hughes in presenting the medal.
Mr. Leach’s wife Dawn Madahbee Leach was on hand for the presentation as well and spoke on Mr. Leach’s behalf, as he is not comfortable speaking at these award ceremonies.
“I just wanted to share this photo of Reggie when he met the king, who was Prince Charles at the time, and this is a shy Reggie over here (pointing to a very young Mr. Leach standing beside teammate Bobby Clark and the future monarch with his head bowed). Mr. Leach joked that he was already bowing to the future king.”
“On behalf of Reggie I want to thank Carol and the fact that he’s being recognized for the important work that he’s done for many, many years,” said Ms. Madahbee Leach. “We have so much fun at it and we are very proud to see this happen. It is actually really fitting because he’s met King Charles and now, he’s getting the King Charles III Coronation Medal.”
In conversation with The Expositor after he returned home, Mr. Leach admitted he was very honoured to receive the medal but affirmed that “awards and medals are not why we do these things. It’s for the kids and their futures.”
