March 26, 2024, Mississauga, ON – …. Leah Toffelmire of the Trenton Golden Hawks is the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Athletic Therapist of the Year, the league announced today.
Toffelmire, 30. was the therapist for the OJHL’s Wellington Dukes for seven seasons before moving to the Golden Hawks ahead of this season.
She was on the staff of Team Canada East the past two seasons, winning silver medals both years at the World Jr. A Hockey Challenge.
“First off, and most important, Leah is a great person and it shows in her daily life,” Trenton Head Coach and General Manager Derek Smith told the OJHL.” She cares for everyone she crosses paths with. Working with her over the past six seasons and the past two WJACs has been a great experience for me. And everyone else that has either worked with her, or been a player, will say the same thing.”
“She’s passionate about her profession and always looking to learn. We are fortunate to have her part of our organization.”
Toffelmire is a Certified Athletic Therapist with the Canadian Athletic Therapists Association as well as a Registered Massage Therapist with the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario. She studied at Sheridan College and the Ontario College of Health and Technology. Toffelmire completed her certification in Neurofunctional Acupuncture from McMaster University.
A rugby player, Toffelmire is a converted hockey fan.
“When I was in school, I said I would never work hockey,” she told the OJHL. “It’s kind of a funny story.”
A visit to Wellington’s outstanding facilities and a meeting with team officials changed her mind.
Now she’s hooked.
“It’s the group of guys the sport attracts,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun to be a part of the team. The number is really nice, too. Football has huge numbers and can be overwhelming. The 25 in hockey is a really nice number to work with.”
Toffelmire filled in as therapist with the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League for one game earlier this season.
“It’s funny that I said I never wanted to work in hockey but now it’s where I want my career to go,” she said. “The dream would be to work hockey full time. But I’ll just take it as it comes.”
Toffelmire lives in Trenton where she works at a local clinic.
She will be honoured along with the other OJHL award recipients at a ceremony during the OJHL Nutrafarms Championship Series in late April.
The OJHL is announcing its 2023-24 award winners throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs.
Trenton, which leads the Toronto Jr. Canadiens two games to none in their second-round series, hosts Game 3 tonight.
TOMORROW: Equipment Manager of the Year
About the OJHL – “League of Choice”
The Ontario Junior Hockey League is the largest Junior ‘A’ league operating under the auspices of the Canadian Junior Hockey League with 24 member clubs. A proud member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League and Ontario Hockey Association, the OJHL was originally named the Ontario Provincial Junior ‘A’ Hockey League and it was formed out of the Central Junior ‘B’ Hockey League in 1993-94. With a long and storied history of developing players for the next level, including U SPORTS, the NCAA, CHL, minor pro ranks and the NHL, the OJHL has had more than 45 NCAA Division I scholarships already this season.
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