#71 Louis Leblanc 2013-2014

[ColRouleBleu]

Louis Leblanc #71



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Archive 2012-2013
Position: Centre Shoots: Right
Birth Place: Pointe-Claire, QC, CAN
Birth Date: 26-Jan-1991 Age: 22
Height: 6' 0" Weight: 178
Drafted by: Montreal Draft Year: 2009 Round 1(18 overall)


@Louis_Leblanc71

[ozweeg0]

Where is this kid? I remember hearing when he was drafted 12th overall some exciting things. Haven't heard much until this morning on Sportscenter when he was interviewed saying he wanted to be the surprise player at camp.

[Walrus_26]

Where is he?

In a place where he needs to show he's got any chance at all of being someone who can contribute to the Big Club.

Good luck to him!

[HabsAlways]

I think Leblanc was forced to play in the NHL too soon for too long ... definately seems to have set his developement back

Read that he had a good prospects camp, so hopefully he can build on that and have a good training camp as well, go back to Hamilton and take his game to the next level

[East_Coast_Juggalo_13]

I like leblanc's chances going into this camp. I was watching an interview with LL (Cool Jay ); Louis Leblanc I mean, and he basically said to reporters he wasn't concerned with the depth chart...he was coming to camp to steal a roster spot. If Leblanc can deliver and steal one, I'd like to see him on a line with Galchenyuk and Prust. Leblanc could be a dark horse to force MB to "Make a decision."

[jennifer_rocket]

Well, cut already. Disappointing. I wonder how he will perform in Hamilton this year.

[Noob616]

I guess the team probably has the top 9 sorted out. It's pretty hard to justify Leblanc in a top 9 role over Galchenyuk, Gallagher, Eller, Prust, Pleks, Desharnais, Pacioretty, Briere, and Bourque. I'm sure the team has talked to him, there'll be injuries and he's probably top on the depth chart as far as stepping in to the top 9.

[BeanCountingHab]

Ya, I figured he's pretty much be starting in Hamilton regardless. It'll be up to him to have success there and position himself higher up on the depth chart among the potential call ups.

[BeanCountingHab]

Ouch, he might want to keep his girlfriend from Twitter.

[Manatee-X]

Ouch, he might want to keep his girlfriend from Twitter.

Poor guy...

[Graeme-1]

Ya, I figured he's pretty much be starting in Hamilton regardless. It'll be up to him to have success there and position himself higher up on the depth chart among the potential call ups.

I figured he's be starting in Hamilton, but to be part of the first set of cuts after 2 pre-season games along with a bunch of players you've never heard of shows either the team has pretty much given up on him or is trying to send a message.

Ouch, he might want to keep his girlfriend from Twitter.

Well I guess she's loyal at least. Honestly, even if he had a great camp, after last year in Hamilton, his chances were incredibly low at making the team. Given his experience and offensive role, he needs to be dominant in the AHL to give much hope of being effective in the NHL.

[kinot-1]

Well I guess she's loyal at least. Honestly, even if he had a great camp, after last year in Hamilton, his chances were incredibly low at making the team. Given his experience and offensive role, he needs to be dominant in the AHL to give much hope of being effective in the NHL.

And he has to do it from the get-go, no sulking or "woe-is-me". IMO, this is his last shot to either make it or break it, considering the the last draft we had.

[jedimaas]

Given his experience and offensive role, he needs to be dominant in the AHL to give much hope of being effective in the NHL.

Agreed. I dont think its a coincidence that he got sent down before other guys that are very unlikely to make this team this year. There is a message & the message (should be) clear: Work hard & show us we've made a mistake Louis. Not many of us thought he'd be with the bigs to start game 1 but the fact he's been sent down so quickly should get him fired up and hopefully - hopefully get him focused & playing with something to prove.

I still think there's a chance he pans out, but its getting slimmer all the time.

[Graeme-1]

I still think there's a chance he pans out

It's great to see that Gomez didn't ruin your eternal optimism

[jedimaas]

It's great to see that Gomez didn't ruin your eternal optimism

He ruined a lot !!

[Guest Regis2]

Oh well

Not surprising

There really wasn't a roster spot open for him

[BigTed3]

Oh well

Not surprising

There really wasn't a roster spot open for him

Except that there may very well have been. Gionta is not guaranteed to start the year with the team and if a young guy can make the team out of camp, you just never know what other injuries arise or players get benched by the time Gio gets back. The team is short one top 9 right winger and that's exactly the position Leblanc plays. The Habs are still giving a look to other young RW's like Collberg and Thomas, and the fact that they would cut Leblanc this early is a very clear sign that they're not happy with him. I understand the guy had a bad year last season, but he's 22 years old, he had a significant injury, and he played last season under a new (and not very good) coach, who insisted on placing him with less talented players in a fair share of the games. I personally think it was quite harsh to have cut Leblanc this early, especially when he did show some good things in the NHL two years ago. The ability to play in the NHL is there, I think we just need to show some patience with him. A GM can't keep trading away his top prospects because he's not happy with their character.

[31Careyprice]

If Leblanc want's to play in the NHL then he has to prove it by dominating the AHL. Before his injury Louis showed he had excellent vision and great skating ability so I think he has it in him.

[Guest Regis2]

I guess Management and coaching staff didn't think he showed enough during camp to warrant keeping around a little longer .

. A GM can't keep trading away his top prospects because he's not happy with their character.

lol.........should never have drafted them in the first place

[BeanCountingHab]

Except that there may very well have been. Gionta is not guaranteed to start the year with the team and if a young guy can make the team out of camp, you just never know what other injuries arise or players get benched by the time Gio gets back. The team is short one top 9 right winger and that's exactly the position Leblanc plays. The Habs are still giving a look to other young RW's like Collberg and Thomas, and the fact that they would cut Leblanc this early is a very clear sign that they're not happy with him. I understand the guy had a bad year last season, but he's 22 years old, he had a significant injury, and he played last season under a new (and not very good) coach, who insisted on placing him with less talented players in a fair share of the games. I personally think it was quite harsh to have cut Leblanc this early, especially when he did show some good things in the NHL two years ago. The ability to play in the NHL is there, I think we just need to show some patience with him. A GM can't keep trading away his top prospects because he's not happy with their character.

They seem to obviously want to light a fire under him. It's up to Louis to perform in the AHL and show he deserves to be on the short list of call ups. At the same time though, I hope he gets the opportunity he needs to do that (ie: decent icetime and decent line mates). I don't think his character has ever been in question.

Anyway, I would have like to see him stick around but of the actual prospects still with the team (meaning guys who could at some point play a top 9 NHL role) they have all had strong camps or shown some really nice upside. I can't really point to one and say, 'Louis is better than that guy'.

*This obviously excludes a couple of career 4th line/AHLers know commodities who are still with the team to provide extra bodies.

[Noob616]

Except that there may very well have been. Gionta is not guaranteed to start the year with the team and if a young guy can make the team out of camp, you just never know what other injuries arise or players get benched by the time Gio gets back. The team is short one top 9 right winger and that's exactly the position Leblanc plays. The Habs are still giving a look to other young RW's like Collberg and Thomas, and the fact that they would cut Leblanc this early is a very clear sign that they're not happy with him. I understand the guy had a bad year last season, but he's 22 years old, he had a significant injury, and he played last season under a new (and not very good) coach, who insisted on placing him with less talented players in a fair share of the games. I personally think it was quite harsh to have cut Leblanc this early, especially when he did show some good things in the NHL two years ago. The ability to play in the NHL is there, I think we just need to show some patience with him. A GM can't keep trading away his top prospects because he's not happy with their character.

As I said above though, our top 9 is pretty well set. It's hard to see Leblanc, McCarron, Thomas, or Collberg actually displacing Prust from the top 9. As of now I don't see any of our kids ready to step in and be an improvement over Prust on the 3rd line, and we already have enough 4th line plugs.

Agree with the rest though, of course we don't know the full story but this seems like an odd decision, especially with guys like Collberg and Thomas staying with the team.

[kinot-1]

IMO, if he doesn't get called up ( injury replacement),n the next 2-4 months, he might request a trade.

[BeanCountingHab]

As I said above though, our top 9 is pretty well set. It's hard to see Leblanc, McCarron, Thomas, or Collberg actually displacing Prust from the top 9. As of now I don't see any of our kids ready to step in and be an improvement over Prust on the 3rd line, and we already have enough 4th line plugs.

Agree with the rest though, of course we don't know the full story but this seems like an odd decision, especially with guys like Collberg and Thomas staying with the team.

Well, by all accounts Thomas has had a better camp and both he and Collberg have a higher offensive skillset. In the case of Collberg, this is really one of the organization's first chances to see him play first hand, and given that they're sending him all the way back to Sweden and won't have the luxury of calling him up during the year I think it makes sense to extend his stay in camp as long as possible. Having said all that, it doesn't seem like it would have cost them anything to keep Louis up which makes me think it was a deliberate message.

[Manatee-X]

I don't see anything wrong with sending him down. If they've already decided that he's not going to be with the team this year, what's the point of keeping him around? He's been through this camp thing a few times at this point, so I don't think an extra few games would be that much of a valuable learning experience.

As others have said, whether he gets the call-up at this point is going to be completely dependant on his play in Hamilton. If he plays better than the other guys, including those still at camp, I would bet he'll be the first call-up. If he doesn't, he won't.

[Graeme-1]

Well, by all accounts Thomas has had a better camp and both he and Collberg have a higher offensive skillset. In the case of Collberg, this is really one of the organization's first chances to see him play first hand, and given that they're sending him all the way back to Sweden and won't have the luxury of calling him up during the year I think it makes sense to extend his stay in camp as long as possible. Having said all that, it doesn't seem like it would have cost them anything to keep Louis up which makes me think it was a deliberate message.

I doubt that's the reason for Collberg. Pointless or not, there seems to be an unwritten rule that you invite a huge number of players to camp who have no chance of making the team and then slowly shed them as the pre-season goes on. As a 2nd round pick, I wouldn't expect Collberg to be part of the first cuts.

I think the number of players invited to NHL camps with no chance of making the team is a bit ridiculous, but given that's the way it goes (invite a bunch and slowly shed throughout the pre-season), it's hard to see the early demotion of Leblanc as anything but a message.