Theoren Fleury - Early Life

Early Life

Fleury was born on June 29, 1968, in Oxbow, Saskatchewan, Canada, the first of Wally and Donna Fleury's three sons. Wally was a hockey player whose dreams of a professional career ended when he broke his leg playing baseball in the summer of 1963; the injury helped fuel a drinking problem. Donna was a quiet, religious woman who battled drug addiction for many years. Fleury is of Métis heritage, as his grandmother Mary was Cree. The Fleurys lived in Williams Lake, British Columbia, for four years, a period that saw Theo's brother Ted born in 1970, before settling in Russell, Manitoba, by 1973, the year his youngest brother Travis was born. Wally worked as a truck driver and maintenance worker at the arena in Russell.

Always one of the smallest children in his class and without stable supervision at home, Fleury adopted an aggressive posture and later described himself as a bully. He turned to hockey as an outlet when he borrowed an old pair of skates and a broken stick to play his first game at the age of five. From that point on, he played hockey at every opportunity, often accompanying his father to the arena in Russell in the pre-dawn hours. He was described by his teachers as a determined youth, who would repeat any activity he failed at until he got it right.

Although his mother was a Jehovah's Witness, Fleury was raised as a Roman Catholic. He attended mass from age 6 to 12, serving as an altar boy until the church's priest died of a heart attack, depriving Fleury of one of his earliest positive influences. Always lacking money and a stable home, Fleury received support from the community, in particular the Peltz family in Russell, who ensured that he and his brothers were fed and bought them new clothes when required. In January 1982, Fleury's dreams of playing in the NHL nearly ended at the age of 13 when, during a game, he suffered a deep cut under his arm that severed his brachial artery. He missed nearly a year of contact hockey as a result. Five months after the incident, the community raised money to send him to the Andy Murray Hockey School in Brandon, Manitoba. It was there that Fleury met Graham James, who was working as a scout for the Winnipeg Warriors of the Western Hockey League (WHL). James told Fleury that he had the skill to play in the NHL despite his size, and promised to recruit him to play junior hockey for the Warriors when he was old enough.