NEWS

Nick Leshuk of the North York Rangers is the 2018-19 recipient of the Humanitarian of the Year award in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL).

He did not have to look far before embracing charity work last summer.

“One of my best friends lives in a Habitat for Humanity home and seeing the joy it brings his family made me instantly want to join the Habitat family,” he said. “His sense of pride and ownership really touched me.”

Leshuk has volunteered 100 hours with Habitat in Burlington, “with the amazing team” at the Restore retail outlet and on-site” helping build 18 townhome units.

“Being so heavily involved with the Habitat for Humanity organization made me want to get my team involved as well,” he said.

With the okay of North York general manager Claude Desjardins, Leshuk helped co-ordinate a team build day at the Burlington site.

A donation of $2,000 was required. No problem. Leshuk raised more than $3,100 for Habitat.

On a cold Dec. 6, 2018, Rangers players, coaches and their GM helped build houses.

Leshuk also served as a volunteer coach with the minor peewee single A Goulding Park Rangers, affiliates of the Jr. A Rangers, throughout the 2018-19 season.

“I felt so fortunate to be able to give back to my team and help motivate and inspire a younger generation of players just as I had been inspired as a young player myself,” he said.

“I’m so grateful and thankful that my family gave me every opportunity. At the end of the day, it’s all about giving back.”

Leshuk is enrolled in the firefighting program at Humber College, with plans of becoming a first responder.

“Because it is a career that will allow me to give back to the community in one of the biggest ways possible,” he said.

The 21-year-old from Oakville began his Jr. A career with the Milton Icehawks in 2016-17. Traded to North York in 2017, he’s in his second season with the Rangers – his final year of junior eligibility. The Rangers – the eighth-ranked team in Canada – advanced to the second round of the OJHL playoffs Wednesday night.

Leshuk and other OJHL trophy winners will be honoured at a ceremony this spring.

About the OJHL – “League of Choice”

The Ontario Junior Hockey League is the largest Junior ‘A’ league operating under the auspices of the Canadian Junior Hockey League with 22 member clubs. A proud member of the CJHL and Ontario Hockey Association, the OJHL was originally named the Ontario Provincial Junior ‘A’ Hockey League and it was formed out of the Central Junior ‘B’ Hockey League in 1993-94. With a long and storied history of developing players for the next level, including U Sports, the NCAA, CHL, minor pro ranks and the NHL, the OJHL had more than 135 commitments in 2017-18, including 65 NCAA Division I scholarships.

For more information on the Ontario Junior Hockey League, please visit www.ojhl.ca or follow us on Twitter (@OJHLOfficial) and Facebook (OJHLOfficial).