The hockey journey of Port Moody’s Wade MacLeod has taken him to Norway.
The 34-year-old forward who’s overcome brain cancer three times signed with the Narvik Arctic Eagles in the top division in Norwegian hockey. He started the season with the Manchester Storm in Great Britain’s Elite Ice Hockey League, where he scored one point in seven games.
MacLeod returned to hockey after three years away regaining his health from a Grade 3 glioblastoma tumour in his brain that had recurred for a third time in 2018.
The tumour first presented itself in 2013 after MacLeod collapsed on the ice during an American Hockey League game in Springfield, Mass. Doctors removed a golf-ball sized tumour from the left side of his brain and he was able to return to the ice the next season, splitting his time between the Springfield Falcons and the Evansville IceMen in the ECHL.
But in 2018, as MacLeod prepared for a new season with a new team in Germany, the tumour returned. The former scoring star with the Merritt Centennials in the BC Hockey League returned to Canada for surgery. Two operations in two months, followed by a six-month regime of chemotherapy, finally excised the growth. Extensive rehab, an integrated health care regime and a vigorous training program with martial artist Kai Heinonen got him back in game shape.
In fact, MacLeod said, he was ready to go by November, 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic kept him close to home in Port Moody with his young family that includes his wife, Karly, and two young daughters.
Last August, MacLeod told the Tri-City News it was important to him he be able to resume his career.
“The biggest thing is never give up on your dreams and always stay positive,” he said, after a search for a new team that included options in France and Norway finally took him to the Storm.
MacLeod’s time in Manchester ended Nov. 16.
Narvik is a town of about 22,000 people located in the far north of Norway.
MacLeod’s signing of a one-year contract to the Arctic Eagles, with an option for a second year, was made possible by a financial contribution from the team’s supporters club.
“There is a story here that is very special,” said the club’s leader, Kjell-Ivar Berg, in a statement on the Eagles’ website. “The story of Wade MacLeod is a story of never giving up the dream. We applaud forces that contribute to joy and happiness locally.”
Arctic Eagles sports manager André Lysestoen called MacLeod “a fantastic hockey player with an incredible history,” adding, “He comes to Narvik also with a baggage of life skills few others can refer to.”
The team said MacLeod will use the month of December to acclimate to his new surroundings. He’s expected to see his first game action in the new year.
