I actually agree with Mathias Brunet who said on his blog that he expects Leblanc to be some kind of a mixture between Plekanec and Lapierre.
A tireless worker, most likely a winger, that excels in all three zones and could put around 40 points a season on the board. Sort of a 20-20 kinda guy.
If he actually has Plekanec's work ethic, which i'm not yet convinced he does, he should end up being way better than a 3rd line player. He has more raw talent and upside than Plekanec did. Plekanec is where he is today because of a sheer hard work, determination, and getting every ounce of his skill set out on the ice, pretty much every night. Nobody 5 years ago would have thought he could be a 1st line center, probably not even Plekanec himself. If Leblanc takes a page out of Plekanec's book, he will be better than Plekanec in the long run. Book it.
It's funny, just looking at the stats from the Montreal Juniors, they don't seem to be scoring very much. Would Louis be scoring much more with a better supporting cast?
If he actually has Plekanec's work ethic, which i'm not yet convinced he does, he should end up being way better than a 3rd line player. He has more raw talent and upside than Plekanec did. Plekanec is where he is today because of a sheer hard work, determination, and getting every ounce of his skill set out on the ice, pretty much every night. Nobody 5 years ago would have thought he could be a 1st line center, probably not even Plekanec himself. If Leblanc takes a page out of Plekanec's book, he will be better than Plekanec in the long run. Book it.
I specifically didn't use the term 3rd liner as I think he could be a good complementary top6 winger. I can actually picture him own the boards along side pleks and cammy.
As for him being more talented than Plek I don't really know and I'm probably not the guy around here that has seen him the most. He dosen't have Plek's speed that's for sure. And I don't think he has his vision and passing skills. He seems however to have better hands and maybe better finishing skills.
Anyway, to me he's a sure fire nhler and I think, not unlike Plekanec, he will gradually climb up in the lineup. It remains to be seen how high he'll climb but top6 is not out of question.
If he actually has Plekanec's work ethic, which i'm not yet convinced he does, he should end up being way better than a 3rd line player. He has more raw talent and upside than Plekanec did. Plekanec is where he is today because of a sheer hard work, determination, and getting every ounce of his skill set out on the ice, pretty much every night. Nobody 5 years ago would have thought he could be a 1st line center, probably not even Plekanec himself. If Leblanc takes a page out of Plekanec's book, he will be better than Plekanec in the long run. Book it.
Plekanec has far superior raw skills than Leblanc.......not even close. Leblanc is not a high skill prospect.....he will be a valuable role player for us but will not be an integral building block.
Maybe its just that a lot of people contribute...there isn't a few really great scorers like on most teams. They have a lot of good players, but no stars it seems.
He's not? Lac St-Louis Lions, Omaha Lancers, and Havard, he lead his team in scoring on every team. This year he's 4 pts back of the leader but has missed 15 games.
He's not? Lac St-Louis Lions, Omaha Lancers, and Havard, he lead his team in scoring on every team. This year he's 4 pts back of the leader but has missed 15 games.
By high end I think he means Stamkos, crosby '' High-End'' which I agree he isn't and it's ok
For me, if the idea is to make Leblanc a top 6, forget him at the center position. He doesn't have the imagination to do so. 3rd centerman? Maybe. Even there, I'd love to be wrong, but he's not going to be a centerman in the NHL....
In the meantime....I would have love so much to see what Quailer could do as a centerman...but that freakin injury came into play....
He's not? Lac St-Louis Lions, Omaha Lancers, and Havard, he lead his team in scoring on every team. This year he's 4 pts back of the leader but has missed 15 games.
I think he is right, Leblanc is a pretty solid prospect but as far as pure skills are concerned, he is not a top skilled one.. His stickhandling skills are not very impressive..
I think he is right, Leblanc is a pretty solid prospect but as far as pure skills are concerned, he is not a top skilled one.. His stickhandling skills are not very impressive..
So he leads every team he plays for in scoring but isn't a top skilled player? So how does he do it then?
Ryan White once was a WHL leader in points... Why you describe him as a top skilled player ?
White might of done it once, Louis has done it all his life. Bantam AA, 2 years Midget AAA, USHL, Harvard University and now the MTL Juniors...and he has no skill?
I love how some poster talk in certainties. Leblanc has the pedigree, skill and work ethic to become a top line center. Will he? No one knows for sure but to categorically classify him as a third line plugger is just plain wrong.
White might of done it once, Louis has done it all his life. Bantam AA, 2 years Midget AAA, USHL, Harvard University and now the MTL Juniors...and he has no skill?
So had Ryan White : 62 points in 39 games in the MMHL before joining the Hitmen. I am not comparing the two players: the point I was trying to make is that you don't need to be a top skilled player to lead your team in points.
Who said Leblanc had no skills ? (only you buddy) There is a difference between not being a top skilled player and having no skills. Just like what isn't black is not necessarily white.
Quote:
I love how some poster talk in certainties. Leblanc has the pedigree, skill and work ethic to become a top line center. Will he? No one knows for sure but to categorically classify him as a third line plugger is just plain wrong.
Lol I love how YOU know in certainty what is wrong.
Brendan Gallagher with 1 goal and 2 assists last night. That gives him 80 points in 59 games. He had 81 points in 72 games last season.
The next closest player on his team is Spencer Bennett who has 57 points this season. Bennett was traded from Portland and had 21 points in 37 games there (I assume due to lack of icetime considering the team he was on). On Vancouver he has 36 points in 23 games. Quite the jump, I wonder if he plays with Gallagher.
I'd love to fast forward leblanc's maturation and put him on the top 6 right now as a complimentary winger. Man, do we need a guy who can win puck battles or what?
Yes but AK ain't bad. He is very tough to push off the puck.
Patches and Eller can hold their own also.
How about Pouliot?
Remember when Patches was falling on his ass so many times after doing his puck battles...
Does not seem that way anymore?
It took three to four years for Lats to be good on puck battles but in his last two seasons, he was good (calling the herd of Lats bashers here).
By the time Leblanc is with us, Pouliot, Patches and Eller will all have matured.
You need to learn your way in these close confrontation and it is more about experience, size than skills.
Remember Mark Tinordi in his first three years... and in his last five years... Experience.
Give Max, Benoit and Lars a year forward and you will see much better skills in puck battles.
When these young guys goes in a puck battle against the Prongers of this league, there is no way they can win it... for now.
Closer to us, look at Markov first two seasons and his last two seasons...
Fast forward two years and Leblanc is just starting to battle for the puck at NHL level.
Meanwhile we have players who are starting to have a complete game...
But I basically agree: Leblanc has all the tools to be great in puck battles but give him a year or two to adapt to NHL...
No, unfortunately he isn't. He's got to build strength, as he falls way to often when defenceman get physical with him. Can't deny the heart, as he's always right back up, but he he needs to work on his strength, and quite frankly I would like to see him back in the ahl. I think it would do him a lot of good. You can see the difference in his game when he plays center and since we've traded our number one in Hamilton, he'd have all the ice time in the world.
No, unfortunately he isn't. He's got to build strength, as he falls way to often when defenceman get physical with him. Can't deny the heart, as he's always right back up, but he he needs to work on his strength, and quite frankly I would like to see him back in the ahl. I think it would do him a lot of good. You can see the difference in his game when he plays center and since we've traded our number one in Hamilton, he'd have all the ice time in the world.
Maybe Pierre has that on his agenda but there is no shortage of centers in the system.
^ I believe that is called "taking the puck to the net".
Kid is fearless.
The kid also has some nice east to west moves. It will be curious to see if he can ever amount to anything. At least he is not a perimeter small player. That bodes well for him.
).
