e draws 3 Coppers, a Steward and a Leprechaun.
...didn't turn out so bad!...
Turn 3 - ehunt
e plays a Leprechaun.
I think you have a typo. That should have read "Turn 3 - ehunt plays a Steward, trashing two Coppers."
Who skips a turn 3 Steward play to gain Gold? I have Awaclus voice echoing in my head, "Trashing a card is equivalent to gaining a Lab." Is it really worth trashing two Labs to gain a Gold?
Yes, trashing on that turn would make it harder to hit $5 in the next few turns, but my guess is that $5 wasn't a critical price point to hit quickly in that kingdom or you would have opened Steward/Silver instead of Steward/Leprechaun.
Yes, you got super-lucky in the process of trying to not make your own shuffle luck.
Wow, now Awaclus voice is echoing right out of my fingers on to my keyboard. It's like a disease. I gotta go get that looked at.