It was a career year for Rebecca Leslie on the ice with the Ottawa Charge. Not only was Leslie named a PWHL Second Team All-Star for her performance, but she also took home a major award at the PWHL Awards, being named the league’s Hockey For All Award recipient.
For Leslie, her on ice success came with tying for fifth in league scoring and second in goals scored with 14 goals and 23 points in 30 games. With all the work Leslie put into the community of Ottawa, she called it “good karma.”
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Leslie was actively involved in volunteering with the Ottawa Senators’ Foundation, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, the PWHL Mentorship Program, and with a campaign close to her own heart, Do It For Daron (DIFD).
“Earlier in the season I made a point to do whatever I could in the community saying yes to everythning, I think it’s so important. It’s kind og the way I grew up giving back is so important and crucial. Maybe I got some good karma that way on the ice from all the stuff I was doing off the ice,” Leslie said of receiving off-ice recognition.
Leslie’s willingness to say “yes” to any organization that asked in Ottawa this season, endeared the hometown hero to the Charge’s fanbase even further.
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The Hockey For All Award is given annually to the PWHL “player who has made the greatest impact in their community.” It comes with a $10,000 donation from Scotiabank to the charity of Leslie’s choice. Last season, Laura Stacey won the award, while Maureen Murphy was the PWHL’s inaugural winner.
For Leslie, the personal connection to DIFD, was significant. The organization was founded in memory of Leslie’s late teammate Daron Richardson. Richardson suffered from mental illness prior to her death, and for Leslie, the recognition of the importance of talking about mental health, whether it’s for youth, or even professional athletes, is so important.
“I think mental health, is really important in our league,” said Leslie.
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“For us at Do It For Daron are just trying to build confident young people.”
Leslie was a close friend of Daron Richardson, and hopes all people, including PWHL players, can openly speak about mental health.
“I think it’s really important that we speak about mental health at the professional level as well too, because professionals whether they’re working or playing hockey deal with a lot of mental health and need the support as well.”
