James Leonard has had a very successful return to playing for the Golden Rockets in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL).
Leonard was a part of the Rockets team in 2010-2011when he won 18 games for the team.
“It has been good coming back. Even though it may not have been what I had planned on happening this year, I am happy I am here now and have a place to play,” he said.
So far this season many of the Rockets players have attributed the teams success to having goalies they are confident in playing for the team.
“It has been good so far. I have been pretty hot out of the gate. I had a few games I would like back but that is going to happen. You can always make up for them later down the road,” he said.
Currently Leonard has a goals against average of less than three and has made timely saves to help the Rockets pick up some important victories.
“I think it is confidence. Once we got going we picked it up and did really well,” he said.
He also said that as a goalie you have to be ready for whatever gets thrown at you in the KIJHL.
“It is part of being a goalie. You have to be prepared to take 25 or 30 shots in a period and other times you have to be ready for five,” he said.
Compared to his previous time with the Rockets, Leonard said the team is much different than it was in the past.
“The difference between two years ago and now is big. The defence now is a lot stronger than it was two years ago. We had a lot of rookies then and everyone this year is returning. It has been nice to have guys who are confident in their own game out there in front of me,” he said.
As for the rest of the season there is only one thing on the Rockets back stop’s mind.
“I just want to lead this team to a championship and continue my career on from there.”
