Louis Leblanc

Leblanc playing for the Omaha Lancers in 2009

Leblanc was selected 18th overall by the Val-d'Or Foreurs in the 2007 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) draft. 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.[4][5]

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 hosted the draft.[6] The last francophone selected in the first round of the Entry Draft by the Canadiens had been Eric Chouinard in 1998.[7] 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.[8][9] 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.[10] Leblanc enrolled at Harvard University in September 2009, and began playing for the university's hockey team, the Crimson.[8] 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.[11]

Leblanc while with the Montreal Juniors in 2010

In mid-2010, Leblanc's QMJHL rights were owned by the 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.[12][13] 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.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16]

Leblanc made his professional debut on October 27, 2011 with the Bulldogs, and scored three points, including the game-winning goal in overtime, to give his team a 3–2 victory over the Rochester Americans.[17] After 14 games with the Bulldogs, in which he recorded 10 points, Leblanc was recalled by the Canadiens and made his NHL debut on November 30 against the Anaheim Ducks.[18] His first point, an assist on a goal by Andrei Kostitsyn, came on December 3, against the Los Angeles Kings,[19] while his first NHL goal was against Sergei Bobrovsky in a 4–3 loss against the Philadelphia Flyers on December 15.[20] Leblanc split the remainder of the season between Montreal and Hamilton. He played 42 games for the Canadiens, with whom he had 5 goals and 5 assists, and 31 games with the Bulldogs, scoring 11 goals and 11 assists; he was the leading Canadien goal-scorer among rookies, and was second in both assists and points.[15] The following season was delayed by the 2012–13 NHL lockout; when the NHL resumed play in January 2013, Leblanc stayed in the AHL with Hamilton, where he recorded 18 points in 62 games, minor injuries restricting his playing time and limiting his production.[21] Prior to the 2013–14 NHL season, Leblanc was once again assigned to Hamilton, one of the first players the Canadiens cut from their roster; with his early demotion to the AHL, it was speculated in the media whether Leblanc, who had one year remaining on his contract with the Canadiens, had a future with the team.[21] He was recalled to the Canadiens early in the season and played eight games for them, going pointless before being sent back to the AHL, his NHL career was once again questioned.[22] In the 70 games he played for Hamilton, Leblanc scored 13 goals and 15 assists.[15] As Leblanc had failed to establish himself on the Canadiens roster, he was traded, on June 14, 2014, to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.[23] A restricted free agent, Leblanc signed a one-year extension with the Ducks, though he spent the season with their AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, scoring 29 points in 71 games.[24][25]

On July 17, 2015, Leblanc signed as a free agent to a one-year contract with the New York Islanders.[26] After failing to secure a spot in New York's lineup and being assigned to New York's AHL affiliate, Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the team agreed to release him from his contract and he quickly signed with HC Slovan Bratislava of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Visa issues initially prevented Leblanc from joining the team, so he was loaned to MsHK Žilina of the Slovak Extraliga.[27] Once cleared to join Slovan, Leblanc played only seven games, failing to record a point, before being released. He was criticized by the coach, Miloš Říha, for playing "un-Canadian" (not physical enough). As the KHL had a limit on foreign players, Leblanc needed to be among the best players to retain his place; the coach did not judge Leblanc to meet that standard. Instead, he signed with Lausanne HC of the Swiss National League A (NLA).[28] He finished the season with them, scoring one goal in four games, and decided to retire in June.[29] He was considered one of the Canadiens' biggest draft busts in the period between 2000 and 2009, having failed to reach the potential expected at the time of his selection.[30]