by Mike Ries, Staff Writer, AHL Report
BRAMPTON, ON. — Veteran forward Chris Leveille has never taken the easy road in his hockey career. The 30-year-old winger is entering his eighth professional season and second with the Brampton Beast.
His road to Brampton has been interesting, to say the least, starting with a three-year stint in the OHL with the Guelph Storm where he played just 12 games. Mixed in with his OHL appearances, Chris played with the Guelph Dominators of the MWJHL. That was followed by a year with the in the OPJHL with the Newmarket Hurricanes.
Many players may have called it quits, but Chris soldiered on finding a home in Fayetteville with the FireAntz of the SPHL. For four years, Leveille scored at more than a point a game pace, wearing the ‘C’ on his jersey for the final year. Chris was a dominant player winning the SPHL scoring title in 2010-’11 as well as being a SPHL first team all-star on two occasions.
At that point, Chris stepped away. For the next four seasons, Leveille played in the Federal Hockey League (FHL) and the senior league (ACH).
But missing a higher level of play, Leveille turned up at an open tryout in Brampton, making the opening night roster for the 2016-’17 season. And the Guelph native has found a home in Brampton for the past two seasons.
Chris’ main asset is his skating. His game is all about speed combining it with a knack for finding the open man in the offensive zone as evidenced by his 30 assists this season in 55 games. Chris is blessed with a higher level hockey I.Q. allowing him to anticipate and create more time and space for himself with the puck and consequently more scoring opportunities for himself and his linemates.
This season he has excelled with the Beast playing on the top two lines, currently sitting second in scoring. Earlier this season Leveille earned himself a call-up with the Laval Rocket for six games where he earned his first AHL point. (Check out Leveille’s interview with my colleague, Amy Johnson, in the video above.)
Leveille has earned the trust of Beast coach Colin Chaulk who has increased his ice-time and given him shifts on both the power-play and penalty-kill. The success that Leveille is enjoying this season is a credit to his hard work and perseverance throughout his hockey career.