Bobcats’ forward and Lloydminster native Jayven Leslie is this year’s RBC Community Ambassador for the AJHL’s north division. Leslie is pictured during the team’s Buzz the Bobcats fundraising event on Jan. 7, which he played a major role in. The campaign raised over $32,000 for mental health initiatives within Lloyd’s two school divisions. Taylor Weaver Meridian Source
Border City native and Lloydminster Bobcats forward Jayven Leslie has been selected as the Viterra AJHL North Division RBC AJHL Community Ambassador.
As ‘Cats head coach and general manager, Nigel Dube explained, the Community Ambassador award by RBC recognizes an Alberta Junior Hockey League player who goes above and beyond in the community.
“Each community within the AJHL does a lot of work in those respected communities, and it was a way for them to recognize and also be visual with things we do in the community,” said Dube.
Leslie was recognized for the vast on and off-ice work he did within the community this past year, especially that pertaining to mental health initiatives such as the Buzz the Bobcats fundraiser.
So, what does one of the most humble guys on the ice say when asked how it felt to win such an honour? He immediately credited his teammates and coaches.
“It’s an honour, but most importantly, this isn’t about me, it’s about everything and all the work the team did this year and everything we did in the community,” he said.
“I was lucky enough with Buzz the Bobcats to be a big part of something special we did in the community this year, and I can’t give more credit to the guys on our team for stepping up, doing that with me, and being all for it; all the guys wanted to support it, and all the guys did it for a great cause.”
Growing up in the Border City, Leslie always looked up to the city’s junior hockey players, and once he was of age to play, he wanted to make a difference.
“Playing junior hockey in my hometown has been amazing,” he said. “I grew up watching the older guys, we billeted, so I had older billet players in the house when I was younger, and there were guys I always looked up to.
“When I got here and made the team as a 16-year-old I wanted to make change in the organization and make change off-ice as well. I feel like that was something I was able to accomplish with a bunch of different guys I got to play with, including Nigel. Nigel did big things for this organization and it inspired me to make a change as well.”
As Dube explained, “Our motto is ‘Border City Built,’ and I think that goes back to Jayven being a local player who grew up in Lloyd, dreaming of being a Bobcat one day … being a Bobcats, and also being a big role model in our community for the youth to look up to and to be a leader.”
