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Leblanc will be tough to replace
Lac St. Louis Lions star hoping to win spot on national team
John Meagher
The Gazette
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Louis Leblanc slides puck past goaltender. (TIM SNOW/The Gazette)
The Lac St. Louis midget Triple-A Lions opened their main hockey training camp Monday at the Dollard Civic Centre.
More than 40 players hit the ice under the watchful eye of Lions head coach Danny Dupont and his staff.
The Lions will be looking for someone in this year’s crop of recruits to replace the offensive firepower lost by the graduation of Louis Leblanc, a prolific sniper from Kirkland who scored 85 goals in two seasons with the Lions.
The 17-year-old centre is in Calgary this week, trying to impress at the Canadian national under-18 team evaluation camp.
If he cracks the final 22-player roster, Leblanc will represent Canada at the 2008 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament held in the Czech Republic and Slovakia from Aug. 12-16.
Leblanc, who posted league-leading totals of 31 and 54 goals in each of his two seasons with the Lions, was the only midget player in the country invited to the under-18 camp.
The other 39 invitees are from the Canadian major junior ranks.
“Being the only midget kid in the country invited is a big deal,” said Raz Saltarelli, the general manager of the Lions.
Saltarelli has no idea whether Leblanc will make the national U-18 team, but he knows one thing for sure: Leblanc certainly won’t get outworked for a spot.
Saltarelli said Leblanc’s work ethic is second to none.
“A lot of people, including some scouts, have asked what is Louis’ best quality?
“I always tell them the same thing: Louis is the hardest worker, most driven kid we had here in a long time,” Saltarelli said.
“How far can he go in hockey? We’re never sure. We know he can play pro hockey, but we’re not sure where or when.
“The NHL? It depends on how he develops. His NHL draft year is 2009, but he’s got to score quite a few goals before then.
“I think he will make it to pro. He’s the type of player who’s never had a bad practice. He competes so hard, he won’t go into prolonged slumps because of the way he plays.”