Mand James Leinhos made justice reign on the ice, now he enforces it in society as a lawyer.
If nothing at the start destined him to become a feared brawler, Jamie Leinhos nevertheless made a name for himself with the Royals of Sorel after joining the Semi-professional Hockey League of Quebec, the ancestor of the LNAH, in 1998.
“I defended myself a bit in the junior ranks, but I was not a fighter. In the league, there was a difference between the guys who were there to fight and those who were able to play hockey. I found myself a niche between the two. I could play and I was able to defend myself and take care of my teammates,” he said.
In 394 games, Jamie Leinhos, a reliable defender, still amassed 131 points, including 41 goals, at the pro and senior level.
He was also a leader, while he was captain in Sorel, Trois-Rivières, in the LNAH, in La Prairie, in the senior AA, in addition to being an assistant in Saint-Jean (LNAH).
Gaetz and Roberge
But one day, Jaimes Leinhos made the leap into the big leagues.
“The toughs only fought among themselves. There was a code, a respect. It took a fight, which I didn’t want, against Link Gaetz, so that other brawlers who hadn’t spoken to me before would speak to me. Before that, I was nobody. They had no time to waste with me!”
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Justin Leinhos and Jamie Leinhos. The two brothers played five seasons together, four with the Royals of Sorel (2000 to 2004) and one with the Caron and Guay of Trois-Rivières (2004-2005).
“But after fighting against Gaetz and Serge Roberge the same weekend, I received invitations. There was a kind of politeness, but the invitations were different!”, he says with a laugh.
At 5ft 11in, he was among the shortest brawlers.
“I weighed 205 pounds at that time. I looked at the guys who had hands twice the size of mine. I had better cardio and was trying to use that to my advantage. If I could stay alive for the first 20 seconds, I had a good chance of winning,” said the 45-year-old.
No health problem
It is easy to imagine that, if he is able to plead these days, Mand Leinhos did not suffer too much from the many fights he fought.
“I had concussions, but no sequelae. Sometimes it’s like waking up in the middle of a fight. You stayed up, but the lights went out briefly,” he concedes.
“My worst, worst injury was a broken jaw by Jason Rushton. My knees didn’t bend, but in the penalty box I couldn’t close my even mouth. It’s hard for a future lawyer to have his mouth covered for six weeks. I had been told not to fight back for a year and that my jaw might remain fragile, but two months later, I started again!”, he says.
Long studies
While playing and brawling, Jamie Leinhos had a college education.
“I did my baccalaureate at McGill in economics, political science; then my baccalaureate in law. Afterwards, I decided to do a DESS in common law for two years, which would have allowed me to do my law in the United States or in English Canada,” he explains.
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Leinhos in 2004-2005 with the Caron et Guay team from Trois-Rivières and on the ice against Donald Brashear of Radio X.
“I extended my studies to continue playing, continues the lawyer. It was a trip, it was fun! We went to the Colisée de Québec, in Trois-Rivières, it was always full. It was my national league, and I also played NHL veterans. We were known in the province. And the money was good too.”
On this subject, he makes a revelation that speaks volumes.
“I had to take a pay cut when I started working full time as a lawyer. My hourly rate was much lower than what I had in hockey!”
In his early twenties, he played one season in the defunct United League (UHL).
“We were offered more here than the East Coast and United. And instead of being away from my family, I was in Quebec, I had training on Wednesday and two games on the weekend. We slept in our bed after the game.
Fight for a cause
While he had presented himself for the umpteenth time with a black eye to a course at the University of Montreal, a professor, intrigued, questions him.
“I told him I was playing hockey. She replied, ‘OK, I thought maybe you had some trouble with the law!’” he said, while still laughing about it today.
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Jamie Leinhos played two seasons with the Saint John Summum Chiefs (2006-2008). He will end his career the following season with the Saint-Hyacinthe Chiefs.
He later learned that he almost had trouble getting his first job. The law firm that finally hired him knew him as an LNAH player.
“A few years later, I ran into one of the former partners who told me that four of them didn’t want to hire me. The others said that’s what you want as a lawyer, a guy who is ready to fight to pay for his studies.
A star to restore
Jamie Leinhos regrets the reputation that sometimes sticks to the LNAH.
“There are two weights, two measures; even the NHL had years when it was more robust. The fans were coming, the arenas were full. Nobody booed when we fought. It was sad to only talk about mistakes and excesses. I wouldn’t have been able to do my law and play hockey if this league hadn’t existed,” he points out.
The name James Leinhos as a lawyer has been associated a few times in the public arena with former LNAH players.
“It calmed down, but there was a time when I had a lot of calls from lots of players I played against who were contacting me with a problem or a question of a legal nature. I was always very happy to talk to them, even if we never played together,” he said in conclusion.
James Leinhos’ career in brief
- 2482 penalty minutes in 394 games (junior and senior).
- Active from 1998 to 2009, he estimates to have delivered 350 to 400 fights. His salary went down when he stopped fighting to start his career as a lawyer.
- Lawyer for nearly 15 years in Montreal.
