Andrew LeBlanc, left, stands at the boards next to his brother, Jacob, during Kitchener Rangers practice at the Aud.
KITCHENER — Twins Andrew and Jacob LeBlanc have never visited the Cayman Islands.
But they’ve heard the stories.
Like how their parents, Sheila and Joe, both left Canada for a different life and met in Grand Cayman, the biggest of three islands in the western Caribbean country.
Like how they were born one minute apart — Jacob arriving first — in the capital city of George Town and were destined for a childhood of sun, beaches and warm weather.
And how everything changed in 2004, when they were just two months old, after Hurricane Ivan destroyed their home and belongings and forced their family to return to Ontario where the duo ultimately got into hockey and became top prospects for the Kitchener Rangers.
“If it weren’t for — as bad as it was — the hurricane that wiped everything out, we wouldn’t be here,” said Andrew, 17. “It’s just a crazy sequence of events that brought us to where we’re at now.”
Sheila LeBlanc, nee Nagy, was in her 20s when she left for the Cayman Islands in 1996.
“I was a nurse working in inner city Detroit and I just thought I wanted to live somewhere with palm trees,” she recalled. “It was as simple as that. I needed a break from the hustle and bustle. I was single and I just moved down there.”
She found a job with the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority, sunk her toes into the sand and started enjoying island life.
Joe LeBlanc...
Read Full Story: https://www.therecord.com/sports/rangers/2021/09/11/hurricane-changes-course-for-kitchener-rangers-twins-jacob-and-andrew-leblanc.html
Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.