Vancouver Giants defenceman, Mazden Leslie in the WHL, left, returned to the Lloydminster Public School Division Hockey Academy where he got his start to help on-ice consultant Adam Huxley run a Power Edge Pro relay for Grade 4-6 players. Geoff Lee Meridian Source
The Lloydminster Public School Division Hockey Academy is proving to be a route to making hockey dreams come true for talented boys and girls.
The academy helped to propel Mazden Leslie to become a star defenceman for the Vancouver Giants in the Western Hockey League.
The 18-year-old is eligible for the 2023 National Hockey League entry draft in June.
Mazden Leslie. File Photo
The gifted teen returned to the academy one day last week to assist coaches with Power Edge Pro (PEP) drills to the delight of academy coordinator, Sheldon Gallagher.
“He’s kind of a big deal and a name around town. People in Lloydminster know exactly who Mazden Leslie is,” said Gallagher, principal at Rendell Park School.
“The fact that he’s in town and wants to check out the academy is kind of cool.”
Gallagher was bang-on thinking the academy left a lasting impression on Leslie for him to want to even want to come back and be a part of it.
“I mean it was pretty big. I guess I was in it for five years. Just being on the ice every day was pretty big. That helped a lot,” said Leslie at the Servus Sports Centre.
“Just being on the ice, getting the experience definitely helped me get better.”
Leslie knows his hockey story and presence on the ice can help to motivate academy kids just as he once looked up to his two brothers and future NHLers Ty Smith and Kale Clague in Lloyd as a kid.
Leslie is currently training in Wainwright with academy consultant, Adam Huxley, who describes the teen as a skilled player who loves the game and is always willing to learn.
“He’s working hard and every year you watch him, you see his game develop and grow,” said Huxley.
“It’s cool to have him come out,”
Huxley wasn’t around to see the younger Leslie at the academy, but teacher coaches Shawn Coulter at Rendell Park and Jeff Mazzie at College Park School were.
“He’s a great kid. I had the pleasure of teaching him when he was at Barr Colony School in the academy,” said Coulter.
“When I taught him in Grade 6, he was already ready to move to the next level. He was mature beyond his years.”
Coulter notes Leslie is from Lloydminster so they reached out to him to see if he wanted to have a skate with us and he obliged.
“It’s really exciting for our kids to be able to see someone who has been through our program and played in the same spot that they have, having a lot of success with his career early on here,” said Coulter.
“To see someone who was drafted 10th overall into the bantam draft and had the same beginnings they did gives them that motivation.”
Leslie also played for the Lloydminster U18 AAA Bobcats in the Alberta Elite Hockey League.
Coulter thinks the academy gave Leslie the opportunity to get out there and utilize the tools he was already given.
“He was able to come out and practice that extra couple of hours a week to sharpen his tools, if you will,” he said.
Huxley says the special camp that day would be putting skills to action with some relays through PEP obstacles, so the kids could interact with Leslie.
“It’s pretty cool they get to do something fun for a day. You’ve got to keep their minds jumping and throwing new stuff at them,” he said.
The 10-month-long academy runs into June with 110 kids on the ice each week.
“We have about 50 students in Grades 4-6 and the same in Grades 7-9. We don’t have as many girls, but the ones we do work really hard,” said Coulter who believes the academy is a draw for students.
“We focus on academics and the last half hour of the day, they get to spend at the rink,” he explained.
The rest is history for academy grad Leslie, who is uncertain about being selected in the entry draft. He’s ranked 125th by NHL Central Scouting.
“It’s kind of hard to tell. Hopefully, it happens,” he said.
