Bobcats captain, Ben ByGrove, left, was the first to get buzzed after a 7-4 win over Canmore on Saturday night as the Bobcats held up their end of the deal and shaved their heads after raising $25K for mental health initiatives. Teammate Jayven Leslie, right, who organized the fundraiser, was next to lose the lettuce. Taylor Weaver Meridian Source
The Lloydminster Bobcats beat the Canmore Eagles 7-4 on home ice last Saturday, but the real winners were local youth struggling with mental health.
Last October, the Bobcats teamed up with the Lloydminster Region Health Foundation (LRHF) and started a fundraising campaign to support mental health initiatives and resources throughout the Lloydminster public and Lloydminster Catholic School Divisions.
A $25,000 goal was set, and if met, the entire team would shave their heads.
Last Friday, and with only one day of fundraising left, the boys were $1,800 shy of their goal, which is when the United Way showed up in the dressing room with a blank cheque.
The United Way got the team to its goal and added an additional $5,000 when the coaching staff agreed to get a buzz cut.
Photo by Jackie Tomayer
“This is unbelievable, I’m just so happy right now,” said Bobcats forward Jayven Leslie, who spearheaded the initiative. “This community just keeps coming through for all of us, and we’re thankful for everyone that’s supported us throughout this, and will continue to support us through it all.”
An advocate for mental health, Leslie knows how important it is to have these potentially tough conversations and even joined Kurt Price and Maverick Hann on Nov. 17, 2022, for a Let’s Talk Men’s Mental Health podcast, recorded in front of a live audience at the LloydMall.
“You see slowly and slowly there’s more awareness being brought to it, and you really can’t explain how important it is,” said Leslie.
“One’s mental health, no one really sees what goes on behind closed doors. I just want to get people help when they’re younger, (something) the older generation didn’t get.”
Now in his fourth year with the Bobcats, Leslie stated Saturday’s crowd was the best he’s ever seen.
“It’s awesome to see everyone coming out and supporting us, and all the people that are still in the stands right now, it’s kinda crazy,” he said right before getting his head shaved.
With funds going to the LRHF to support local mental health initiatives, the organization’s CEO, Stephanie Munro, couldn’t be happier with the support and knows how far these funds will go.
“This is an incredibly community minded and invested group of young men. I am so proud of their hard work and determination to reaching their goal,” she said.
“The entire Bobcats organization has shown what community and coming together for a common goal means. Mental health is something that continues to affect so many … many of whom suffer in silence. If a group of young men can speak out about the importance and bring awareness to the topic, it gives me hope that together we are one step closer to ending the stigma that coincides with mental illness. Thank you to all donors and sponsors, and a special thank you to Jayven Leslie, whose leadership in this initiative is to be commended.”
Bobcats captain, Ben Bygrove, knew how special Saturday night was and is hoping it brings the team even closer together.
“It’s good when you have something like this for the community and everyone comes together and gets a big win on a special night like this, it’s pretty special,” he said.
“Jayven put all this together and it means a lot to him, so it’s great to see we all came together and got a win for him.”
Forward Matthew Swanson, who’s been a teammate of Leslie’s for roughly seven years and arguably had the best flow on the bench, was also elated to see the night turn into such a success.
“Jayven’s a great guy. He’s always out in the community doing what he can to help out. He came to us with this idea to shave our heads to try and raise money for mental health, and we all agreed. It’s going to be good,” he said just before to his cut.
Photo by Jackie Tomayer
One thing Bobcats fans might not be aware of is the fact the team dressed two new players on Saturday, who didn’t know about the buzz cuts until game day.
“We were in the dressing room with the blank cheque and everyone’s wearing matching sweaters except Caden Cabana and goaltender Matthew Syverson,” said the United Way’s Tricia Hunter.
“That was their first day with the team. It was basically a ‘welcome to Lloydminster, we’re shaving your head on Saturday’ moment for them. But what an amazing time to step in and be a part of something so big; like, instant brotherhood.”