April 29, 2009
Quebecer up for grabs in NHL draft
By Pat Hickey, The Gazette
Louis Leblanc was a standout with the Lac St. Louis Lions before playing U.S. college hockey
The Canadiens' recent draft history shows a fondness for players from Minnesota high schools and the United States Hockey League, a junior league that is best known for sending its top players on to U.S. college.
Photograph by: Tim Snow, Gazette
At the same time, they have been criticized for ignoring Quebec talent. But this year's draft offers the Canadiens the unique opportunity to select one of the top prospects from the USHL who is also a dyed-in-the-pure-laine Quebecer.
His name is Louis Leblanc and he checks in at No. 13 on Central Scouting's list of North American skaters, which means he should be available when the Canadiens select midway through the first round.
He was ranked 18th on the mid-term list, but moved up after a successful season with the Omaha Lancers. He finished in the top-10 in the USHL scoring race and was the top scorer in Omaha with 28 goals and 31 assists. The second-leading scorer on the team was Danny Kristo, a member of the U.S. national junior team who was drafted by the Canadiens in the second round last June.
Leblanc, who is back home in Kirkland after Omaha was bounced by Fargo in the first round of the USHL playoffs, was a midget Triple A standout with the Lac St. Louis Lions. was drafted by Val d'Or later in the first round of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft. He would have gone higher if he hadn't already decided he wanted to play college hockey in the U.S.
"My ultimate goal is to play in the NHL, but I figured that it would be good to have an education to fall back on," Leblanc said yesterday.
While he's a lifelong Canadiens' fan, he admits to have a soft spot for the city of Boston and talked to Boston University and Northeastern before he was accepted at Harvard.
Leblanc, who plans to study economics, is aware of the value of an Ivy League degree, but he also said he wouldn't rule out leaving school if he was ready for the NHL.
There has been a pipeline from Lac St. Louis to Harvard in recent years. Leblanc will join a roster that already includes senior defenceman Alex Biega, junior forward Michael Biega and sophomore forward Alex Killorn. A third Biega brother, defenceman Danny Biega, also will enroll at Harvard in the fall.
The Biegas and Killorn all went the prep school route. The Biegas attended the Salisbury School in Connecticut, while Killorn went from Loyola High School to Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts.
Leblanc gave some consideration to attending Salisbury, but opted for Omaha because the schedule is longer.
Alex Biega has been drafted by Buffalo, while the Lightning selected Killorn last June. Danny Biega isn't eligible for the draft until next June.
