Lightbringer: Lucy Leitner

[LucyXpher 554]

By: Lauren Lambert

VHL Magazine: S92

January 9, 2024
Diamond Valley, Alberta

 

        It’s a frosty January evening, about 7:30 pm, as I crunch up the snowy driveway of the Leitner family home.  There’s a light glowing through the front window, soft and yellow, a warm radiance, beckoning me out of the cold winter night.  I ring the doorbell and immediately I can hear the thumping and scratching of approaching footsteps on the other side.  Seconds later, the inner door swings open and I’m greeted by a boy in a Houston Bulls sweater, no older than 10, followed closely by a black Labrador puppy bounding behind him. 

 

“Oh!” I say, startled. “Hi there!”

 

“You’re the interviewer from VHL Magazine, aren’t you?” The boy says excitedly.

 

I nod that I am and before I can say anything else, the eager puppy is showering me with sloppy wet kisses.  The boy is Josh Leitner and the puppy’s name is Pox.  The boy’s mother, Genessa, appears a moment later, smiling at the boy’s— and the puppy’s— enthusiasm.  

 

She greets me warmly and leads me into the family living room where there’s an inviting fireplace and a comfy sofa.  On the far end of the room away from the fireplace is a set of French doors that lead out behind the house.  Through the glass I can faintly make out a figure in the dark, bent down on one knee as though tying shoes.  

 

“Would you like something to warm up? Tea? Coffee? Hot chocolate?” Genessa inquires. 

 

“Coffee please, decaf.”

 

As Genessa disappears into the kitchen to prepare the beverage, I look back toward the dark windows and notice that the crouched figure is gone.  A few moments later, a white light flickers on beyond the doors, faint at first, but slowly becoming brighter.  I can make out the familiar outline of boards and nets— a backyard rink.  

 

I stand up off the sofa and walk over to the window to have a closer look just as Lucy Leitner takes the ice, skates flashing as she crosses over in the corner, around the net, building up speed.  She’s wearing a Pom-Pom toque and her long strawberry blonde hair is loose, whipping behind her in the frosty air. I watch mesmerized as she takes a few laps around the rink, effortlessly gliding on her edges, skating forward, then backward, and then forward again, cutting shapes across the snow-sprinkled outdoor ice, almost seeming to float. 

 

My mesmerized moment is broken by an excited puppy and an eager young boy.  Josh has his skates and stick in hand and has his sights set on joining his older sister on the ice.  Pox— well, Pox just wants more kisses.

 

“Excuse me, Miss,” Josh says politely as he ambles past me, opening the glass paned door that leads out to the rink.  Propping one of the French doors open and sitting on the doorstep, he begins putting on his skates.  I shiver and fold my arms as the brisk air blows through the doorway into the hearth.   I can hear the sharp rasping and slashing of Lucy’s blades as she continues to carve up the ice sheet.  

 

Beside the rink, a shed door closes with a thump and a man in a parka begins crunching through the snow toward me.  Pox, ever eager, rushes past Josh in the doorway, galloping toward the man.  

 

“Pox! Get back inside!” He says, waving the incorrigible puppy back inside the house. “Joshua! Close the door! We’re not trying to heat all of Alberta!”  There’s a playfulness in his tone as he coaxes the boy out of the doorframe so that it can close behind him.  

 

Cleaning off his boots, cheeks still red from the cold, the man extends a hand to me, “Stephen Leitner, glad you could make it out.”

 

Genessa returns a few moments later with a steaming cup of decaf and the three of us settle in by the fireplace to chat.  By the French doors at the end of the room, Pox sits, gazing out at Joshua as he clomps his way toward the white light of the rink to join Lucy.  

 

- - -

 

Stephen and Genessa Leitner met in college.  Both were Division I athletes and both played hockey for Boston College.  Stephen, born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, went to BC on a hockey scholarship and played there for three seasons, captaining the team in his third year with the program.  After he was passed over in the VHL draft, he went over to Europe to play in the Finnish Liiga.  His pro career in Europe lasted only nine games, however, as he was forced into an early retirement due to heart complications that would keep him out of competitive play.  Being only 22 and reluctant to give up the game, he took a job as a skills development coach back at BC with the women’s program.  During that first season back Stephen and Genessa would be engaged, and Genessa, a junior at the time, would be fifth on her team in scoring en route to a National championship. 

 

Genessa would play one more season with BC before the couple moved to Houston, Texas.  Genessa herself was born in Katy, Texas, though her parents had moved there for work from Minnesota.  When Stephen was offered a job as an assistant coach for a new hockey school in the Houston area, the couple decided to jump at the opportunity.  

 

“We wanted  to be closer to my family,” Genessa says, “And we were ready to start a family of our own.”  

 

In August of 2002, Stephen and Genessa made their move to Houston and on May 9th, 2005 they welcomed their first child, Lucy. 

 

“Lucy was just a natural skater,” Genessa says of her daughter.  “We had her on the ice at 3 years old and we just can’t seem to get her off of it.”  Genessa nods towards the French doors.  On the ice, Lucy floats by like a ghost and Josh chases after her excitedly. Pox has finally settled down for a nap by the door.  

 

“She always had a special kind of self motivated determination to improve her skills and to be a better teammate,” her Father says.

 

Stephen coached his daughter through her formative hockey years at the Houston Hockey Academy, and when asked about where her determination came from he answered, “From her mother, absolutely.  Early on, the two of them had that in common, just this unwillingness to settle for ‘good enough’.  Lucy was always a great kid to coach because she never complained about the practices and she really just wanted to get better.  Like Gen said, it’s always been harder to get her off the ice than on it.”

 

Genessa, herself, left hockey behind in Boston for a career as an architect.  “I had this thing that I always wanted to pursue and that was architecture.  I loved hockey, but I also had this passion for design and it’s a career that definitely lends itself better to the family lifestyle.”  

 

When the couple moved to Houston, Genessa transferred from BC to Rice University to complete her architectural studies and has been working in the field ever since.  When asked about his wife’s determination to leave hockey for architecture Stephen said, “She was a great player and as much as I wanted her to continue playing, she had this other goal and it wasn’t really for me to say no.”

 

 “Financially, it was tough those first few years paying off student loans,” Genessa says, “And we weren’t making a lot either, especially when Lucy was born. It was rat race for sure, but it’s paid off.” 

 

It did pay off.  By the time they had their second child, Joshua, the family was debt free and owned a home in Sugar Land, Texas.  Stephen was eventually promoted as director of HHA, Genessa was working her way up in her chosen field, and by age 11, Lucy was already turning heads at tournaments.  

 

“She was always one of the better skaters,” her father says with pride, “Always so fluid and smooth and I think her speed really takes some people by surprise.”  

 

Watching her through the window again, it’s true, her skating does look effortless as she floats through the night, jersey and hair flying behind her like a flag on a windy day, but perhaps it’s hard to truly appreciate just how good it is unless you’re actually skating with her.

 

“She’s real good at turning it on at the right moments, but it’s kind of deceptive,” Stephen says.  “One minute she’s gliding toward you surveying the ice, looking for a pass, the next minute she’s using those edges to generate speed and by the time you’re reacting she’s got a step.  She just loves breaking the puck up ice from the defensive zone.”

 

“Where do you think that skill comes from?” I ask.

 

“Not from me,” Stephen says.  “It’s the practice, she’s just so consistent with it.  That’s something, you know, we really tried to convey from a young age, just practice and work for what you love so that you can love where you work.”  

 

It’s good advice and both of her parents embody it.  

- - - 

 

It’s about 9:30pm when Lucy finally gets off the ice and appears at the French doors with Josh.  Pox is up again, tail wagging as ever.  Genessa gets up to fix something warm for Josh, and Stephen heads back out into the cold to flood the ice and turn off the lights.  Lucy sits down on a sofa across from me and pulls off her toque, her cheeks rosy and nose red from the cold.  Strands of hair stick to her brow, still damp with sweat.  She pulls her hair off her face, tucking it behind her ears, grinning as she greets me.  She’s wearing a San Jose Sharks jersey.  

 

“Is that your favorite team?”

 

Lucy nods.

 

“Why the Sharks?” I ask, curious.

 

“ I dunno.  My dad just had one of these teal Sharks jerseys in his bag when I was growing up and I just liked it. I kept wearing it and he eventually got me my own.  Been a Sharks fan ever since.”

 

“Did you ever live in San Jose?”

 

Lucy laughs, “No, I haven’t even been to California.”  

 

“It seems like your dad was pretty important in your hockey development, but from what I hear, you’re a lot like your mom too. How would you describe your relationship with your parents?”

 

“Yeah, my dad was always my coach growing up and I definitely learned a lot from him, like skills and fundamentals. But my mom too, she was a pretty good player too and she’s been a great role model for me as well, especially as a girl in hockey.”

 

“Did your parents ever push you to practice, or were they ever hard on you if you made mistakes on the ice?”

 

“I mean, I guess they taught me the importance of practice—my dad’s always preaching practice,” Lucy laughs.  “But no, they never really, like, pushed me into it.  Like, even early on, it was something I really loved and wanted to do and wanted to get better at.”  

 

“Did your dad ever yell at you or get mad when you messed up on the ice?”

 

“I don’t think so, he’s not really the yelling type.  You kinda just know when you mess up, like, you just see it in his eyes and you know you gotta do better.”

 

“You seem pretty self motivated, then, to get better.”

 

“Yeah, I think I’m my own worst critic at times, like, I always just want to get back out there and fix my mistakes.  I guess, like, with my dad, he’s been good that way.  He kinda just gave me the space to learn the game and make those mistakes and learn from them.  We also spend a lot of time together watching back games and breaking it down too and he definitely lets me know when there’s things I can do better. But we get along really well for the most part.”

 

“You’re 18 years old now.  You just signed your first pro deal with the Houston Bulls in the VHLM, but where do you see yourself in two years?”

 

“My dream is to play in the VHL, so, like, I guess I hope to be drafted next summer and maybe be playing there in two years, but right now I’m just focussed on getting better, being the best I can be, helping my team win every night, and enjoying the game.”

 

“How do you like to play the game?  How would you describe the way you play?”

 

“I just love, like, the feeling of moving on the ice.  It’s just such a beautiful game, like, it can obviously be physical and you need to be able to get a little dirty and grind sometimes, but I like to play a fast skilled game both ways.  I try to use my skills on both sides of the puck, you know, to shut things down defensively and really move the puck up ice when I have the chance.”

 

“A lot of people talk about your skating as your standout ability and you alluded to how you enjoy skating. Do you agree that it’s your best ability?  And what other skills do you you bring to a game?”

 

“Yeah, definitely, I just love skating—ever since I was little. I even did some figure skating for a while and that definitely helped with some edge work and technical stuff, but it’s just something that I always want to get better at so that I can really use it to my advantage. In terms of other skills, I’d probably say, like, just my offensive and defensive sense.  I think I’m pretty good at balancing between joining the rush and being defensively responsible.  So yeah, I’d probably say that.”

 

“I want to ask you about the draft.  As you mentioned earlier, you hope to be drafted next year and that’s because you missed the draft this year.  Now, I understand that’s because you sustained an injury last year that kept you out for most of the season.  Just talk me through that experience and how that’s impacted your development.”  

 

“Yeah, for sure, it was definitely a difficult year—last year.  A few games into the season I kinda went into the boards awkward and cracked a vertebrae in my back.  I had to get surgery for that and it pretty much ended my year.”

 

“That must have been a scary injury.  Was there ever any talk of you not playing again?”

 

“Yeah, like, after it happened I came out of surgery and was just kind of praying that everything went well and that it wasn’t too serious.  Luckily, it didn’t cause any permanent damage, but it’s obviously serious enough that people asked questions like that.  I just thought it would be best to hold out another year, sign with a team after the draft and really just work my way back because I basically missed a whole year of playing.”

 

“I was going to ask you about that, how much time did you miss where you weren’t skating?”

 

“About four-ish months, and then it was just light practice for a while.  It was probably about six months before I was getting back to full practices.”

 

“Did you miss playing the game?”

 

Lucy laughs, “Every f***ing day.”

 

“Well, it’s great to see you back on the ice and we really can’t wait to see you play.”

 

“Yeah, thanks, I’m just super excited to be able to get back out there and play some games. It’s been way too long.”

 

“So you signed with Houston this summer, which is where you grew up. That must be exciting?”

 

“Yeah, absolutely!”

 

“Just tell me a little more about that, was Houston your first choice? I know your family moved up to Canada a few years back, was that a factor as well?”

 

“Yeah, Houston was definitely my first choice, you know, growing up there.  It’ll be exciting to get back there and I can’t wait to join the team.  And I’ve still got some family and friends in the area so it’ll be super cool to have them at games.  But yeah, it’ll be different moving away from the family to play as they’ve been a big part of my journey ‘til now, especially throughout the past year, you know, coming back from the injury.  But this is just the next step on my journey and I’ve gotta go for it.”

 

“For those who may not know, you moved up to Canada with your family to play for the Black Diamond Blades, and, if I understand correctly, part of that decision was because your dad was offered a consulting job in Calgary as well.”

 

“Yeah, it just made a lot of sense for us to all move together.  And it’s been great being able to be pretty close to family as I keep growing as a player.  My dad’s also got some family in the area as well so it’s kinda cool to be able to see some of them as well and see where this side of the family is from.  Plus, it’s Canada, the most hockey nuts nation on earth.”

 

“Because your parents are from Canada and the US you have dual citizenship, but who would you play for internationally if you were given the chance?”

 

“USA, no doubt, that’s just home to me.  I love Canada too, but it’s just not home the same way.”

- - -

 

Our conversation continues on for another hour or so and Lucy shares more about her life growing up, playing hockey in Houston, the move to Alberta, and some of her favorite stories and experiences from junior.  Some of these details I’m not at liberty to share, but others may come out in future articles.

 

As we continue speaking, it becomes clear to me the passion and love that Lucy has for the game of hockey, her sheer joy at the prospect of simply being on the ice.  Missing time with injury was tantamount to torture for Lucy and returning to the ice was like a second lease on life.  

 

Canada may not quite be home for Lucy Leitner, but if I may boldly say so, perhaps neither is the US, and let me explain.

 

For Lucy Leitner, home is a place that transcends nation, that crosses borders and blurs time, a place where she floats and flies, like a flag whipping in the wind, her borders are boards—200 by 85 feet—her anthem, the thrashing of blades, the satisfying smack of a puck, the bell chimes of bar-down, and the drone of a goal horn.  

 

The name Lucy comes from the Latin, Lucius, meaning, “light” or “light bringer”.  

 

We conclude our interview and I thank the family for their hospitality.  A sleepy-eyed Josh is ready to crash as he waves goodnight.  When I leave the house, it is 12am.  Pox is lying down again, this time in his bed which is off to the side of the living room, the fireplace is off and the lights are out.  Stephen has gone to his office down the hall to wrap up some work for the evening, and Genessa escorts Josh off to his room.  Lucy has just put her toque back on.  

 

I say goodnight and leave through the front door, crunching down the driveway toward my car.  It’s a beautiful night, a perfect kind of cold, crisp and fresh, but not so cold that your toes threaten to fall off in your skates, or your fingers become so numb your hands feel like cinderblocks trying to stickhandle bricks—no, it’s perfect.  

 

I stop at the door of my vehicle and look up.  The sky is clear and we’re far enough away from any city lights that you can make out the stars.  My eyes are drawn to Jupiter—the brightest speck of light in the night sky, which is at its closest point to earth in 59 years.  I marvel, for a moment, at how bright and big it is, and how distant it is.  

 

The moment passes and I get in my car, starting off down the driveway toward the range road.  I steal a glance at my rear view mirror when something catches my eye—the rink lights have just come back on behind the house, faint at first, but glowing brighter as I drive further and further away.  I smile at the thought of Pox perking up from his rest, awakened by the glow of white light from the rink, his little black tail begins to wag.  
 

Lucy is home.

Edited January 16 by LucyXpher

[AJW 1,744]

Absolutely outdid yourself, amazing read Lucy! I’m so happy the hometown Texan is making her way to Houston this season

 

After this season you will be eligible for the VHL draft so I feel you’ll start seeing the VHL GMs poking their noses around soon.

Edited January 9 by AJW

[LucyXpher 554]

4 hours ago, AJW said:

Absolutely outdid yourself, amazing read Lucy! I’m so happy the hometown Texan is making her way to Houston this season

 

After this season you will be eligible for the VHL draft so I feel you’ll start seeing the VHL GMs poking their noses around soon.

Thanks AJ, I appreciate that!  Very happy to be able to join this team and looking forward to what we can accomplish! 

[tcookie 675]

So, so good! Captivating writing and I love the dialogue - realistic-sounding dialogue is so hard to get right and I think you nailed it. This is one of my favourite pieces of writing I've read on here, well done! And welcome to the league!

Edited January 9 by tcookie

[LucyXpher 554]

20 minutes ago, tcookie said:

So, so good! Captivating writing and I love the dialogue - realistic-sounding dialogue is so hard to get right and I think you nailed it. This is one of my favourite pieces of writing I've read on here, well done! And welcome to the league!

Thank you so much!  I’m glad you liked it!  

[Triller 1,373]

Gees!!!!  I got to get my review on for this one!  This is what is called "creative writing"!  Not only is it extremely thorough and detailed but it is wildly engaging!  At first I scrolled through this to check out the word count and was terrified but once I started reading I was dialed in!  Great way to write a media spot and I am very jealous at the back story as I have nothing so deep for my own player.  You will have no issue earning if you can keep up with epics like this!  Well done!  10/10!

[STZ 5,280]

Yeah, you’re a very talented writer. Great job

[LucyXpher 554]

1 hour ago, Triller said:

Gees!!!!  I got to get my review on for this one!  This is what is called "creative writing"!  Not only is it extremely thorough and detailed but it is wildly engaging!  At first I scrolled through this to check out the word count and was terrified but once I started reading I was dialed in!  Great way to write a media spot and I am very jealous at the back story as I have nothing so deep for my own player.  You will have no issue earning if you can keep up with epics like this!  Well done!  10/10!

Thanks a lot! I was a bit worried it would be too long, but I’m glad you were able to make it through.  I appreciate the review!

[LucyXpher 554]

20 minutes ago, STZ said:

Yeah, you’re a very talented writer. Great job

Thank you!