Louis Leblanc

Louis Jean Joseph Leblanc (born January 26, 1991) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. A centre, Leblanc played minor hockey in the Montreal region before he moved to the United States in 2008, playing one season with the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) and becoming Rookie of the Year. Eligible for the 2009 NHL entry draft, he was selected 18th overall by the Montreal Canadiens. He then enrolled at Harvard University and spent one season with the Crimson, being named Ivy League Rookie of the Year, before he signed a contract with the Canadiens in 2010. Later that year Leblanc joined the Montreal Juniors, who had earlier acquired his Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) playing rights.

Leblanc spent three seasons in the Canadiens organization, mainly playing for their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate but appearing in only 50 National Hockey League (NHL) games over two seasons, before being traded in 2014 to the Anaheim Ducks, who kept him in the AHL. In 2015, Leblanc moved to Europe, joining HC Slovan Bratislava of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), though he played only seven games for them before being released. After appearing in four games for Lausanne HC of the Swiss National League A, he retired from hockey. Internationally, Leblanc played in the 2008 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, where Canada won the gold medal, and in the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he helped Canada win a silver medal. Leblanc was considered a draft bust, having failed to reach his potential and retiring from hockey at an early age.

Early life Leblanc was born to Yves and Marie Leblanc in Pointe-Claire, a suburb of Montreal, on January 26, 1991. Yves Leblanc was employed as a chemist by Merck Frosst, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, in Montreal before transferring to their facility at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2009; he worked four-day weeks and returned to Montreal on weekends. Marie was a piano teacher. Louis' younger brother Jean also plays hockey. Growing up in the West Island town of Kirkland, Quebec, Leblanc skated from the age of three and entered organized hockey two years later. After playing with Lakeshore, it became apparent that he could pursue the sport at a higher level; at the age of 15, he joined the Lac St-Louis Lions, a midget team based in Montreal. He played two seasons for the Lions and led the triple-A league in scoring both times.

At the end of the season, Leblanc was ranked by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau as a top prospect for the 2009 NHL entry draft; their final list had him 13th overall among North American skaters, and he was ultimately selected 18th overall by the Montreal Canadiens, who hosted the draft. The last francophone selected in the first round of the Entry Draft by the Canadiens had been Eric Chouinard in 1998. Coaches and scouts for the Canadiens praised Leblanc for his speed, determination, goal-scoring ability, and willingness to go to the corners for the puck. Canadiens General Manager Bob Gainey felt that Leblanc's decision to move to the United States to play in the USHL—rather than stay in his native Quebec with the QMJHL, which would have been the easier choice—would help his development as a player and displayed the type of character the team sought. Leblanc enrolled at Harvard University in September 2009, and began playing for the university's hockey team, the Crimson.

alt=A group of three ice hockey players skate to the right of the image while looking to the left. The image is focused on the middle player, who is wearing the same uniform of the skater to his right, who is partially concealed by his teammate. Their opponent is to the left, with his team bench visible in the background. In mid-2010, Leblanc's QMJHL rights were owned by the Montreal Junior Hockey Club (Montreal Juniors)—his rights having been traded from Val-d'Or to the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in 2009, then to the Juniors in June 2010. On July 30, Leblanc signed a three-year contract with the Canadiens, and he attended a training camp with the team in September. By signing a professional contract, he forfeited his National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) eligibility and had to leave Harvard, being considered a professional according to NCAA standards. Following the camp, the Canadiens announced on September 27 that they were returning him to the Juniors for the 2010–11 season. He finished 2010–11 with 58 points in 51 games for the Juniors.

Professional Leblanc made his professional debut on October 27, 2011, with the Bulldogs, and scored three points, including the game-winning goal in overtime, to give his team a 3–2 victory over the Rochester Americans. After 14 games with the Bulldogs, in which he recorded 10 points, Leblanc was recalled by the Canadiens and made his NHL debut on November 30 against the Anaheim Ducks. His first point, an assist on a goal by Andrei Kostitsyn, came on December 3, against the Los Angeles Kings, while his first NHL goal was against Sergei Bobrovsky in a 4–3 loss against the Philadelphia Flyers on December 15. Leblanc split the remainder of the season between Montreal and Hamilton. He played 42 games for the Canadiens, with whom he had 5goals and 5assists, and 31 games with the Bulldogs, scoring 11 goals and 11 assists; he was the leading Canadien goal-scorer among rookies, and was second in both assists and points. The following season was delayed by the 2012–13 NHL lockout; when the NHL resumed play in January 2013, Leblanc stayed in the AHL with Hamilton, where he recorded 18 points in 62 games, minor injuries restricting his playing time and limiting his production. Before the 2013–14 NHL season, Leblanc was once again assigned to Hamilton, one of the first players the Canadiens cut from their roster; with his early demotion to the AHL, it was speculated in the media whether Leblanc, who had one year remaining on his contract with the Canadiens, had a future with the team. In the 70 games he played for Hamilton, Leblanc scored 13 goals and recorded 15 assists. A restricted free agent, Leblanc signed a one-year extension with the Ducks, though he spent the season with their AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, scoring 29 points in 71 games.

On July 17, 2015, Leblanc signed as a free agent to a one-year contract with the New York Islanders. After failing to secure a spot in New York's lineup and being assigned to the team's AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the team agreed to release him from his contract and he quickly signed with HC Slovan Bratislava of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Visa issues initially prevented Leblanc from joining the team, so he was loaned to MsHK Žilina of the Slovak Extraliga. Once cleared to join Slovan, Leblanc played only seven games, failing to record a point, before being released. He was criticized by the coach, Miloš Říha, for playing "un-Canadian" (not physical enough). As the KHL had a limit on foreign players, Leblanc needed to be among the best players to retain his place; the coach did not judge Leblanc to meet that standard. Instead, he signed with Lausanne HC of the Swiss National League A (NLA). He finished the season with them, scoring one goal in four games, and decided to retire in June. He was considered one of the Canadiens' biggest draft busts in the period between 2000 and 2009, having failed to reach the potential expected at the time of his selection.

International play

Leblanc first participated in an international tournament when he played for the Canadian national junior team at the 2008 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in August 2008. He led the team with three goals and added two assists for five points as Canada won the gold medal. There was speculation that his participation in the NCAA rather than the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) hindered his chances of making the team, as CHL players had played considerably more games than those in the NCAA. Leblanc also had university exams scheduled around the time of the camp. He was invited to the summer camp the following year in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, and was one of the top scorers at the camp. After the pre-tournament camp in December 2010, Leblanc was named to the final roster for the 2011 World Juniors. He later recorded an assist in the gold medal game, where Canada lost to Russia 5–3. He finished the tournament with three goals and seven points over seven games and fourth overall on the team in scoring.

Personal life Leblanc was in a relationship with tennis player Aleksandra Wozniak, who is also from the Montreal region. When Leblanc was assigned to the AHL before the 2013–14 season, Wozniak critiqued the move on Twitter, saying Leblanc had not been given "a fair shot". While at Harvard, Leblanc majored in economics. After turning pro, he took a business class at McGill University in Montreal when he moved back to the city in 2010. When he announced his retirement in 2016, it was reported he planned to return to Harvard later that year.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2006–07 Lac St-Louis Lions QMAAA 40 31 18 49 72 22 14 7 21 10 2007–08 Lac St-Louis Lions QMAAA 43 54 37 91 152 14 8 14 22 76 2008–09 Omaha Lancers USHL 60 28 31 59 78 3 2 1 3 2 2009–10 Harvard University ECAC 31 11 12 23 50 — — — — — 2010–11 Montreal Juniors QMJHL 51 26 32 58 100 10 6 3 9 16 2011–12 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 31 11 11 22 30 — — — — — 2011–12 Montreal Canadiens NHL 42 5 5 10 28 — — — — — 2012–13 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 62 10 8 18 53 — — — — — 2013–14 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 70 13 15 28 63 — — — — — 2013–14 Montreal Canadiens NHL 8 0 0 0 4 — — — — — 2014–15 Norfolk Admirals AHL 71 14 15 29 38 — — — — — 2015–16 HC Slovan Bratislava KHL 7 0 0 0 16 — — — — — 2015–16 MsHK Žilina Slovak 4 3 1 4 10 — — — — — 2015–16 Lausanne HC NLA 4 1 0 1 25 — — — — — AHL totals 234 48 49 97 184 — — — — — NHL totals 50 5 5 10 32 — — — — —

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2008 Canada Quebec U17 7th 5 3 3 6 8 2008 Canada IH18 4 3 2 5 0 2011 Canada WJC 7 3 4 7 2 Junior totals 16 9 9 18 10

Awards and honours Award Year USHL Rookie of the Year 2009 College Ivy League Rookie of the Year 2010 All-ECAC Rookie Team 2010