DRUMMONDVILLE, Que. – This week marks a sad anniversary for former NHL player Normand Léveillé.
He played just two seasons with the Boston Bruins when 30 years ago, his career was cut short at 19 by a disabling brain aneurysm at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver B.C.
It left Léveillé first in a coma and then initially unable to walk.
Although he only played 75 games in a brief two year NHL career, Léveillé is still one of the most respected players in league history.
“He’s an inspiration for lots of people, and he’s my inspiration too,” his wife, Denise Blanchette-Léveillé told Global News.
She believes he’s an inspirational because of how hard he’s worked since his last game.
On October 23, 1982, Léveillé, a young forward with the Boston Bruins, was body checked in a game against Vancouver.
Have a look at more photos from Léveillé’s NHL days in our photo gallery here.
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The 19-year-old was brought to the dressing room to be examined and that’s when he collapsed – the victim of a brain aneurysm.
Léveillé was rushed to hospital where doctors feared the worst.
“He said Normand is dead, he called Harry Sinden and said Normand is dead,” his wife recalled.
Léveillé spent three weeks in a coma and when he finally surfaced, it was with limited mobility.
Today – at 49-years-old – he’s come a long way
Speaking is difficult and he’s partially paralyzed, even after undergoing four years of rehabilitation learning to walk and talk again.
It was this rehabilitation that motivated him to give back.
Several years ago, he founded the Centre Normand-Léveillé Foundation in Drummondville, Quebec.
The facility offers recreational and respite services for intellectually and physically challenged Quebecers.
“All the people who work here, they are here for our clients – but they are also here for Normand,” says Catherine Brousseau, the president of the Centre Normand- Léveillé Foundation.
Normand Léveillé calls the centre his dream. “It’s given a sense of purpose to my life.”
This NHL player’s life took a turn for the worse due to a hard hockey hit – but he says that’s the way the NHL should remain – fast . . . and a little rough.
But his wife, Denise, notes that her husband played in a time when no one complained about head injuries.
“He had a lot of concussions before but he never stopped.”
In Léveillé’s case, he was often given aspirin to treat the effects.
His wife believes that this may have contributed to what happened on that fateful day in October 1982 – and she would like concussions to be a priority for the NHL.
To find out more about the Centre and how you can help, visit the website here.
Don’t miss the second part of this series, which airs on Wednesday, October 24.
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