page_title: Louis Leblanc
section_title: Junior
hierarchical_section_title: Louis Leblanc / Playing career / Junior
caption_attribution_description: English: Picture of Louis Leblanc playing for the Omaha Lancers in the USHL
context_page_description: Louis Jean Joseph Leblanc is a Canadian former professional ice hockey 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 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 playing rights.
  Leblanc spent three seasons with the Canadiens, mainly playing for their American Hockey League affiliate, 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, 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.
context_section_description: Leblanc was selected 18th overall by the Val-d'Or Foreurs in the 2007 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) draft. But as he wished to attend an American university, he went instead to the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) where he spent the 2008–09 season, playing in 60 games and finishing with 28 goals and 31 assists for 59 points. He led the team in points scored 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 performance that season, the USHL named him the league's rookie of the year.
  At the end of the season, Leblanc was ranked by the National Hockey League (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 were hosts of the Draft. 
  The previous 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 his 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. In his one year at Harvard, he led the team in goals (11), assists (12) and points (23). Named the Ivy League rookie of the year, he was also a finalist for the ECAC rookie of the year.
  In mid-2010, Leblanc's QMJHL rights were owned by 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. In the off-season, the team relocated to Boisbriand, a suburb of Montreal, and were renamed the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada; the team traded Leblanc's major junior rights to the Shawinigan Cataractes. Before he had a chance to play for the Cataractes, the Canadiens exercised their contract rights to him, putting him in the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League (AHL), the Canadiens' minor league affiliate.
caption: Leblanc playing for the Omaha Lancers in 2009
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