Louis Leblanc

Louis Leblanc (born January 26, 1991) is a Canadian junior ice hockey centre. He is currently playing with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Leblanc played minor hockey in Greater Montreal before he moved to the United States in 2008, where he played one season with the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) and was named 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. Leblanc joined the Montreal Juniors later that year, who had earlier acquired his QMJHL playing rights. Midway through his first season in the QMJHL, Leblanc played in the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships; it was the second time he had played in an international tournament, having played at the 2008 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, where the team won the gold medal.

Junior
Leblanc was selected eighteenth overall by the Val-d'Or Foreurs in the 2007 QMJHL Draft, but instead went to the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League, with the intent of attending university in the United States. He spent the 2008–09 season with Omaha and played in 60 games for the Lancers, finishing with 28 goals and 31 assists for 59 points. His point total led the team in scoring and tied for tenth overall in the USHL; his goal total was tied for eighth overall, and the six game-winning goals Leblanc scored were tied for second overall. In recognition of his season, the USHL named him the league's rookie of the year.

Leblanc was one of the top-ranked prospects for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, ranked thirteenth overall among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, and was selected eighteenth overall by the Montreal Canadiens, who were hosts of the draft. Leblanc was the first francophone selected in the first round of the Entry Draft by the Canadiens since they picked Eric Chouinard sixteenth overall in 1998. He was praised for his speed and determination, in addition to his willingness to go to the corners for the puck, as well as being a natural goal-scorer. Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey also applauded Leblanc's choice to move to the United States and play in the USHL rather than stay in Quebec with the QMJHL and stated that as it was a more difficult developmental route, it showed he had good character.

He enrolled at Harvard University in September 2009, and began playing for the university's hockey team, the Crimson. In his one year at Harvard, Leblanc led the team in goals (11), assists (12) and points (23). He was named the Ivy League rookie of the year, and was a finalist for the ECAC rookie of the year.

On July 30, 2010, Leblanc signed a 3-year contract with the Canadiens. By agreeing to an NHL contract, he forfeited his NCAA eligibility, being considered a professional. Leblanc subsequently left Harvard and joined the Montreal Junior Hockey Club of the QMJHL for the 2010–11 season. His QMJHL rights had previously been owned by three different teams. Originally selected by the Val-d'Or Foreurs in the 2007 QMJHL Draft, they traded him to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on January 8, 2009. His rights were traded again on June 5, 2010 when Chicoutimi sent him to the Juniors. After attending his first training camp with the Canadiens in September 2010, he was sent back to the Juniors, where he made his QMJHL debut on September 10 in Montreal against the Shawinigan Cataractes; he recorded his first point, an assist, in the game. Two days later, he scored his first goal in the QMJHL, in addition to three assists, against the Gatineau Olympiques.

The Montreal Juniors relocated in the summer of 2011 and became the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. On August 22, 2011, the summer trade deadline in the QMJHL, Leblanc was traded by the Armada to the Shawinigan Cataractes for Cole Hawes. Because Leblanc was now eligible to play in the American Hockey League due to being 20-years-old, Blainville-Boisbriand will receive two draft choices from Shawinigan, who will host the 2012 Memorial Cup, should Leblanc play.

Professional career
Leblanc made his professional debut on October 27, 2011, scoring three points for the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League, including potting the overtime winner, to give his team a 3-2 victory over the Rochester Americans.

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. Leblanc was then invited to try out for the national junior prior to the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships but was one of the last players cut from the team. There was speculation that since he played in the NCAA rather than the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) it hindered his chances of making the team, as CHL players had played considerably more games than those in the NCAA. Leblanc also had 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 better players at the camp. After the pre-tournament camp in December 2010, Leblanc was named to the final roster for the 2011 World Juniors.

In Canada's first game against Russia, Leblanc earned his first point, an assist. He scored his first goal, short handed (Canada's first in the tournament), and added an assist in the second game, versus the Czech Republic. He later notched 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 ranked fourth in team scoring.

Personal life
Leblanc was born to Yves and Marie Leblanc in Pointe-Claire, a municipality on the Island of Montreal in Québec on January 26, 1991. Yves works as a chemist for Merck Frosst, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies and worked at their research facility in Montréal before it closed in 2009. He then transferred to their facility at Cambridge, Massachusetts, working four-day weeks and travelling back to Montréal on weekends. Marie works as a piano teacher. His younger brother Jean also plays hockey.

Growing up in the West Island town of Kirkland, Quebec, Leblanc first skated when he was three years old and entered organised hockey two years later. He first played in the Lakeshore Minor Hockey Association, then joined the Lac St. Louis Lions, a midget team based in Montréal, at age fifteen when it became apparent that he could pursue the sport at a higher level. Leblanc played two seasons for the Lions and led the triple-A league in scoring both times.

While at Harvard, Leblanc was majoring in economics, and intends to eventually earn his degree. In lieu of this, he took a business class at McGill University in Montréal when he moved back to the city in 2010.