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Deep into his first full season with the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs, Jacob LeGuerrier experienced unfamiliar sensations: a pressure in his chest and a dull ache radiating down his left side.
The Ottawa-born defenceman kept playing as the symptoms started building, game by game. Soon he began to feel palpitations and skipped heartbeats, and he realized something was seriously wrong.
“That’s when I thought: I don’t think this is from the physical contact of hockey,” LeGuerrier recalled. “It might be something else.”
LeGuerrier ended up in the hospital, where he got a diagnosis that would sideline his hockey career for what turned out to be years.
The former Montreal Canadiens prospect shared his story of what happens when your hockey dreams are put on hold and how he dealt with his unexpected time off the ice in Heartline, a short documentary for CBC Ottawa’s Creator Network.
Hockey was his life, until he was forced off the ice
LeGuerrier learned in 2022 that his symptoms were caused by viral myocarditis, a condition involving inflammation of the heart muscle.
It’s often triggered by a sometimes minor virus or other illness, according to Dr. Chris Glover, an interventional cardiologist with the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.
Though many recover relatively quickly from symptoms like shortness of breath or chest pain, Glover says for some it can take longer. He usually advises three to six months of complete rest from physical activity followed by a slow, closely monitored return to exercise.
But its symptoms are serious, and for LeGuerrier and his family, scary.
“Some people have said it’s like feeling like you’re going to die,” explained Jacob’s mom Hélène.
She travelled to Illinois during the early days of LeGuerrier’s illness, before he returned home to Ottawa for what he hoped would be a short recovery.
But his symptoms persisted, and that led to repeat ER visits.
“It was more of a kind of fear of my life actually, at that point,” LeGuerrier said.
It was a period, he added, of intense uncertainty and self-doubt, during which he spent many difficult nights in hospital and struggled with his mental health.
“I didn’t really care about hockey on some of those nights where I couldn’t sleep,” he said, recalling how in those early days just going for a walk with his family might necessitate sitting down on the street to wait for the discomfort to pass.
It took two years before doctors would clear him to begin light exercise — only to have the symptoms occasionally come back.
“So then, you know, the fear comes back and then I don’t want to push too far because they tell me this is obviously some serious stuff,” LeGuerrier said.
Unable to exercise or play hockey, LeGuerrier used his time to start a clothing line, named Heartline Apparel. He donated a portion of the proceeds to the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. He also went back to school, pursuing a degree in arts and health sciences from the University of Ottawa.
As time passed, his symptoms started to lessen. By late 2024, LeGuerrier was able to play with the University of Ottawa’s hockey team — though still he remembers setbacks, like the time he went to practice and felt unable to get out of bed the next day.
Finally, in fall of 2025 he returned to the ice professionally, playing his first game with the Indy Fuel of the ECHL. His former coach was also behind the bench.
“It was a very long time in between, so I it kind of got to a point where I really wasn’t sure if I’d ever go back,” said LeGuerrier.
“So it was pretty special, especially it being the same coach as when I was there. I think he was also pretty happy to see the whole full circle moment.”
Unfortunately, after playing through the fall with the Indy Fuel, LeGuerrier suffered an unrelated head injury while on the ice with the University of Ottawa GeeGees that sidelined him for the rest of the season.
He says he’s recovering now and plans to play again next year, pursuing the same goal of high-level hockey.
But he’s also sharing his story to let other young players know that while hockey is important, so is your health.
And there’s no guarantees about how much time you get to pursue your dreams.
“I think it’s basically just appreciating the moment,” LeGuerrier said. “You never know what’s going to happen.”
