Canadiens Pick Montreal Native Louis Leblanc
Homegrown Habs Fan Becomes a Hab
It was the perfect scenario for all involved: the Canadiens’ brass, Louis Leblanc and the Habs fans in the crowd. As Bob Gainey, Trevor Timmins and Co. slowly made their way up to the podium to announce the 18th overall selection, the tension in the air was at an all-time high. Leblanc was still available; would he pull the storied CH sweater over his head?
And then, Timmins took to the podium, made the usual pre-selection speech and said the magic words (in French).
“With the 18th selection, the Montreal Canadiens are proud to select…from the Omaha Lancers of the USHL….from Kirkland, Quebec, Louis Leblanc!”
The crowd erupted into cheers and applause for the local kid who spent the 2008-09 season racking up 59 points in 60 games to lead his USHL team in scoring. The moment was a dream come true for Leblanc.
“There aren’t really words to describe this feeling,” he said, before a scrum so large in number that there was little room for others to pass by. “The Canadiens were my favorite team growing up and to wear this jersey tonight is unreal. I’ve been looking forward to this moment my whole life, and I’m just living it right now.”
In the weeks leading up to the draft, much had been made of the possibility that Leblanc land in the Canadiens’ lap. And there, on hockey’s grandest stage in one of its grandest cities, the script was written.
“If another team would have picked me and I had a chance to play with them, I would have been happy. But right now, [the Canadiens] picked me. I feel really relieved and I couldn’t ask for a better scenario,” offered Leblanc.
Leblanc Chooses Harvard over QMJHL
His Canadian junior hockey rights owned by the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Chicoutimi Sagueneens, Leblanc opted for the American junior ranks instead. In Omaha, he skated alongside a now future teammate in Danny Kristo. After a year of seasoning with the Lancers, the 18-year-old will take the college route and develop his mind and his hockey skills at Harvard.
“I’m going to start off there and year by year get some courses done,” he explained. “If I last two years at Harvard, great, and I can always go back in the summers or when I’m done playing hockey, and finish my degree.”
Playing and studying at such a prestigious educational institution, Leblanc doesn’t expect it to be easy. But he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s arguably one of the best universities around. I’m looking forward to the challenges on and off the ice, and I’m going to make the best of it.”
First Canadiens French-Canadian First Round Draft Pick in 11 Years
Many Francophone Habs fans had been longing for homegrown talent, not just via the trade and free agent market, but come draft day as well. In selecting Leblanc with the 18th pick, the Canadiens nabbed a Quebecer in the opening round for the first time since Eric Chouinard in 1998 (16th). While Chouinard was born in Atlanta – his father, Guy, starred for the Atlanta Flames – he spent his youth hockey days in Quebec.
The last Quebec-born player drafted in the first round by the Canadiens dates back to 1988, when Verdun’s Eric Charron, a defenseman, was selected in the 20th spot.
Louis Leblanc eyes his new jersey
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Louis Leblanc signs the jersey of a young fan
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