Ray LeBlanc

Raymond Jude LeBlanc (born October 24, 1964) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played one game in the National Hockey League, with the Chicago Blackhawks during the 1991–92 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1984 to 2000, was spent in the minor leagues. Internationally LeBlanc played for the American national team at the 1992 Winter Olympics, and at the 1992 World Championships.

Biography LeBlanc was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. After playing two seasons of junior hockey in Ontario, LeBlanc turned professional and joined the Pineridge Bucks of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL) for the 1984–85 season. After the team disbanded, LeBlanc was selected first overall by the New York Slapshots in the ACHL's dispersal draft, but was traded less than 30 minutes later to the Carolina Thunderbirds by general manager Dave Schultz. He then played one season for the Thunderbirds before moving on to the International Hockey League, where he would spend the majority of his career. In his rookie season in 1986–87 with the Flint Spirits, LeBlanc appeared in 63 games and was awarded the Ken McKenzie Trophy as the top American-born rookie in the league.

LeBlanc played for the IHL's Flint Spirits, Saginaw Hawks, Indianapolis Ice, Fort Wayne Komets, Cincinnati Cyclones and Chicago Wolves during his career. LeBlanc spent the final two seasons of his career with the Jacksonville Lizard Kings of the ECHL and retired after the 1999–2000 season.

LeBlanc appeared in one National Hockey League game in his career, playing for the Chicago Blackhawks during the 1991–92 season. His appearance came to allow the Blackhawks to exploit a loophole in the NHL's rules for the 1992 NHL Expansion Draft, where each team had to expose a goaltender who had appeared in at least one game during 1991–92. LeBlanc was activated and placed into his only game on March 10, 1992, therefore meaning the Blackhawks would not have to expose any of their top three goaltenders: Ed Belfour, Dominik Hašek and Jimmy Waite. LeBlanc allowed only one goal, earning the victory as the Blackhawks defeated the San Jose Sharks, 5–1.

International play At the 1992 Winter Olympics, LeBlanc appeared in all eight games for the United States, compiling a record of 5–2–1 with two shutouts. The Americans finished out of the medals, however, as they lost 6–1 to Czechoslovakia in the bronze medal game. He also played at the 1992 World Championships.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 1981–82 Markham Waxers OJHL 39 17 16 5 2236 188 0 4.99 — — — — — — — — — 1982–83 Markham Waxers OJHL 6 2 2 1 305 28 0 5.55 — — — — — — — — — 1982–83 Dixie Beehives OJHL 29 16 8 3 1722 111 0 3.90 — — — — — — — — — 1983–84 Kitchener Rangers OHL 54 39 7 1 2965 185 1 3.74 — — — — — — — — — 1983–84 Kitchener Rangers M-Cup — — — — — — — — — 4 3 1 240 18 0 4.50 — 1984–85 Pinebridge Bucks ACHL 40 — — — 2178 150 0 4.13 — — — — — — — — — 1985–86 Carolina Thunderbirds ACHL 42 — — — 2505 133 3 3.19 — 11 8 3 669 42 0 3.77 — 1986–87 Flint Spirits IHL 64 33 23 1 3417 222 0 3.90 — 4 1 3 233 17 0 4.38 — 1987–88 Flint Spirits IHL 62 27 19 8 3269 239 1 4.39 — 16 10 6 925 55 1 3.57 — 1988–89 Flint Spirits IHL 15 5 9 0 852 67 0 4.72 — — — — — — — — — 1988–89 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 1 0 0 0 20 3 0 9.00 .769 — — — — — — — — 1988–89 Saginaw Hawks IHL 29 19 7 2 1655 99 0 3.59 — 1 0 1 59 3 0 3.05 — 1989–90 Indianapolis Ice IHL 23 15 6 2 1334 71 2 3.19 — — — — — — — — — 1989–90 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 15 3 3 3 680 44 0 3.88 — 3 0 2 139 11 0 4.75 — 1990–91 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 21 10 8 0 1072 69 0 3.86 — — — — — — — — — 1990–91 Indianapolis Ice IHL 3 2 0 0 145 7 0 2.90 — 1 0 0 19 1 0 3.20 — 1991–92 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 1 1 0 0 60 1 0 1.00 .955 — — — — — — — — 1991–92 American National Team Intl 17 5 10 1 891 54 0 3.63 — — — — — — — — — 1991–92 Indianapolis Ice IHL 25 14 9 2 1468 84 2 3.43 — — — — — — — — — 1992–93 Indianapolis Ice IHL 56 23 22 7 3201 206 0 3.86 — 5 1 4 276 23 0 5.00 — 1993–94 Indianapolis Ice IHL 2 0 1 0 112 8 0 4.25 — — — — — — — — — 1993–94 Cincinnati Cyclones IHL 34 17 9 3 1779 104 1 3.51 — 5 0 3 159 9 0 3.39 — 1994–95 Chicago Wolves IHL 44 19 14 6 2375 129 1 3.26 .909 3 0 3 177 14 0 4.73 — 1995–96 Chicago Wolves IHL 31 10 14 2 1614 97 0 3.61 .900 — — — — — — — — 1996–97 Chicago Wolves IHL 38 15 14 2 1911 103 2 3.23 .893 — — — — — — — — 1997–98 Chicago Wolves IHL 14 9 3 0 728 34 0 2.80 .900 — — — — — — — — 1997–98 Flint Generals UHL 29 12 4 5 1303 79 2 3.64 .885 — — — — — — — — 1998–99 Jacksonville Lizard Kings ECHL 53 29 19 1 2982 163 1 3.28 .900 2 0 2 118 8 0 4.07 .867 1999–00 Jacksonville Lizard Kings ECHL 56 22 25 8 3030 183 0 3.62 .908 — — — — — — — — IHL totals 476 221 361 38 25,609 1586 9 3.72 — 38 12 22 1987 133 1 4.01 — NHL totals 2 1 0 0 70 5 0 4.35 .815 — — — — — — — —

International Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% 1992 United States OLY 8 5 2 1 463 17 2 2.20 .943 1992 United States WC 5 — — — — — — 3.79 .877 Senior totals 13 — — — — — — — —

Awards Ken McKenzie Trophy (best American-born rookie in the IHL): 1986–87 season