Eurolanche

A tribute to Cody McLeod

The participants of Eurolanche Invasion IX saw Cody McLeod’s last fight in an Avalanche jersey and also saw his first fight as a Nashville Predator immediately afterwards. Ten Europeans witnessed the longest-tenured Avalanche with an A on his sweater leave the organization. McLeod is a player with a capital P and lots of character, which is why he deserves a proper tribute from the Eurolanche Fan Club.

McLeod has always been great to fans and was a true example off the ice. He joined the Avalanche during the 2007-08 season, the same season Eurolanche came into existence. He always met with Eurolanche members throughout the following years – since Invasion I until Invasion VIII. He never turned down an autograph request, he never complained about giving out multiple autographs and he never tried to avoid us, the fans – simply put, McLeod has always been friends with his supporters and has always been grateful to them. During our last meeting during Invasion VIII, he exited his car in front of the Avalanche training facility in order to spend some time with the twelve Invasion participants. He also met his big fan from Germany and made his year-long dream come true. Our meeting ended with a group photo in front of our rented van.

Cody greeted Eurolanche members for the first (and not the last) time during Eurolanche Invasion I in December 2008.

McLeod wasn’t the second coming of Sidney Crosby, but always gave everything on the ice. He worked, fought and never went through the motions. He was proud to play for Colorado. He wasn’t an exceptional player because of his hockey skills. He was admired because of his determination on the ice and his behavior off it. Hockey isn’t only about how many top players you have on your rosters. The game’s also about character and a plethora of other intangibles not necessarily linked to one’s skill. Only the players that can combine both hockey skill and character can become true champions. Even though they aren’t the most skilled, they will hold a special place in the memories of fans because of their hearts and character, which surpass the usual standards for hockey players. The others, those skilled, yet without character, will never be true winners. They may wow fans with a beautiful play from time to time, or even surpass the 50-point mark, but they will never truly reach the top. Eventually, they will only be a distant memory and history will eventually forget them.

We, the members of Eurolanche, will never forget Cody.

Thank you!

Some photos of Eurolanche members with Cody from each Eurolanche Invasion from I until VIII: