Normand Leveille
Encyclopedia
Normand "Norm" Leveille (born January 10, 1963 in Montreal
, Quebec
) is a retired Canadian professional
hockey
left winger
who played 2 seasons in the National Hockey League
for the Boston Bruins
.
. He was a highly touted prospect coming out of the QMJHL
after a 101 point season in his last year with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens
. He had a decent rookie campaign with the Boston Bruins, scoring 33 points in 60 games. However, personal tragedy struck Leveille in his sophomore season in the NHL.
After the first period in a game against the Vancouver Canucks
that year, Leveille complained of feeling dizzy and having pains in his shoulder. As the trainers began tending to him he lost consciousness. He was immediately rushed to a hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada where doctors confirmed he had suffered a very serious brain aneurysm
. Leveille was rushed into emergency surgery in an effort to save his life. After surgery he was comatose for 3 weeks. After regaining consciousness he remained hospitalized for an additional 3 weeks. He recovered enough to walk again but at the age of 19 his promising career as an NHLer was over. Doctors confirmed that his aneurysm was caused by a congenital condition and that it wasn't triggered by an on-ice incident.
In 1995 the Boston Bruins Hockey Club invited Leveille back to the closing ceremonies of the Boston Garden
where he was allowed to skate on the Garden ice one last time. Bruin Captain Raymond Bourque helped escort Leveille around the ice surface during that memorable evening that closed the Garden.
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
) is a retired Canadian professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
left winger
Winger (ice hockey)
Winger, in the game of hockey, is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play on the ice is along the outer playing area. They typically work by flanking the centre forward. Originally the name was given to forward players who went up and down the sides of the rink...
who played 2 seasons in the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
for the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
.
Playing career
Leveille was drafted in the 1st Round, 14 overall in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft1981 NHL Entry Draft
The 1981 NHL Entry Draft was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League teams selected 211 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1980–81 NHL season and playoff standings. This is the list of those players...
. He was a highly touted prospect coming out of the QMJHL
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League...
after a 101 point season in his last year with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens
Chicoutimi Saguenéens
The Chicoutimi Saguenéens are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The team is based out of Chicoutimi, Quebec . The team plays its home games at the Centre Georges-Vézina.-History:...
. He had a decent rookie campaign with the Boston Bruins, scoring 33 points in 60 games. However, personal tragedy struck Leveille in his sophomore season in the NHL.
After the first period in a game against the Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...
that year, Leveille complained of feeling dizzy and having pains in his shoulder. As the trainers began tending to him he lost consciousness. He was immediately rushed to a hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada where doctors confirmed he had suffered a very serious brain aneurysm
Aneurysm
An aneurysm or aneurism is a localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain and an aortic aneurysm occurs in the main artery carrying blood from the left ventricle of the heart...
. Leveille was rushed into emergency surgery in an effort to save his life. After surgery he was comatose for 3 weeks. After regaining consciousness he remained hospitalized for an additional 3 weeks. He recovered enough to walk again but at the age of 19 his promising career as an NHLer was over. Doctors confirmed that his aneurysm was caused by a congenital condition and that it wasn't triggered by an on-ice incident.
In 1995 the Boston Bruins Hockey Club invited Leveille back to the closing ceremonies of the Boston Garden
Boston Garden
The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928 as "Boston Madison Square Garden" and outlived its original namesake by some 30 years...
where he was allowed to skate on the Garden ice one last time. Bruin Captain Raymond Bourque helped escort Leveille around the ice surface during that memorable evening that closed the Garden.
Career statistics
--- Regular Season --- ---- Playoffs ----
Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 Chicoutimi Sagueneens QMJHL 60 24 12 36 39 -- -- -- -- --
1980-81 Chicoutimi Sagueneens QMJHL 72 55 46 101 46 -- -- -- -- --
1981-82 Boston Bruins NHL 66 14 19 33 49 -- -- -- -- --
1982-83 Boston Bruins NHL 9 3 6 9 0 -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NHL Totals 75 17 25 42 49 -- -- -- -- --