Leach headlines hall of fame class

Two-time Stanley Cup champion Jamie Leach is among the 2023 class for the Manitoba Indigenous Sports Hall of Fame.

Six individuals will be inducted into the hall during a ceremony on April 12.

Leach, a member of Berens River First Nation, was a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who captured back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and ’92.

Leach, who appeared in a total of 81 National Hockey League contests, also had brief stints with the Hartford Whalers and Florida Panthers.

Leach’s father Reggie is also a Stanley Cup champion. He was part of the 1975 Philadelphia Flyers squad that captured the league title.

Reggie and Jamie Leach remain the only Indigenous father-and-son duo to win the Stanley Cup.

Jamie Leach, who is 53, continues to remain active in hockey. He is the director of hockey and president of Shoot To Score, a Winnipeg-based company that offers camps and player development sessions.

Leach is one of four individuals being inducted into the Manitoba Indigenous Sports Hall of Fame via the Athlete category this year.

The others are Métis basketball player Michelle Foreman, Métis ringette player Shelly Hruska and Métis boxer Maurice Camyre.

Pine Creek First Nation member Brian Chrupalo, who has officiated 278 Canadian Football League matches, will be inducted through the Officials category.

And Arnold Asham, who is Métis, is being inducted via the Builders category. Asham is the founder of the World Curling Players Association and a co-founder of the World Curling Tour.