Once a rising professional hockey player, Port Coquitlam's Brady Leavold will be spending the next several months behind bars on a string of criminal charges.
Leavold, 28, pleaded guilty to theft, possession of stolen property, resisting a peace officer and several other charges. He was sentenced in B.C. Provincial Court in Vancouver on Monday to 21 months, less time served.
The right winger got his start as a 16-year-old with the Western Hockey League's Swift Current Broncos. He played two seasons there before a 2005/’06 stint with the Burnaby Express in the BC Hockey League, then returned for three seasons back in Swift Current.
From there, Leavold played for the Kelowna Rockets, the Victoria Salmon Kings, Norfolk Admirals in Virginia, the Tilburg Trappers in the Netherlands and, finally the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees in 2011/'12.
Leavold's descent from hockey's pro ranks to petty crime started with a knee injury in the 2008/'09 season, for which he was prescribed the painkiller Oxycontin. The pills led to Leavold using heroin and continued his downward spiral.
In February 2012, Leavold shared his substance abuse struggles with hockey broadcaster and blogger Regan Bartel three months after finishing rehab and preparing to play for the Killer Bees.
"I'm just so grateful that [Bees coach] Terry Ruskowski is giving me an opportunity here," Leavold said in the interview.
But by December 2013, the demons were back, and Leavold was charged with robbery and theft of a motor vehicle. Several more charges came in the summer and fall of 2015, including several liquor store thefts.
spayne@tricitynews.com
@spayneTC
