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Louis Leblanc: Potential


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I think he has more offensive upside than Draper. A hardworking 20-25 goal man with an excellent work ethic and defensively reliable, thats how I see Leblanc.

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I might say a David Perron type would be a good comparable, average sized guy who is at 0.6ppg. Draper is only a 0.3ppg guy and Louis is gonna surprise this year and do very well.

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His PPG stats through the various leagues at this point in his career track nearly identical to Patrick Sharp's. If anyone recalls it took Sharp a number of years bouncing between the minors and a trade out of Philly before becoming a top 6 guy, obviously doesn't mean Leblanc will reach the same level - think this would be his ceiling - but interesting to see the similarities and reason for some optimism

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No way he becomes Draper. Draper was one of the best skaters in the league who excelled in the faceoff circle. He had limited offensive production but he was IMO one of the best shut down centers in the league. Whether his original days in Detroit paired with Kocur and Maltby or when they formed the grind line....Draper was a mainstay.

Leblanc is just oen of those guys with average size, average offensive ability......middle of the pack type of guy. I mentioned he reminds me of PJ Axelsson but for a name closer to home maybe a guy like Mike Johnson, Benoit Brunet type of guy.

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Brunet is an interesting comparable. He was quite a valuable player when healthy.

The thing about Brunet is he'd go on these little offensive tears. I remember when he was still young, thinking, 'gee, if this guy ever puts it all together, he could be a good top-6 winger' :lol: Eventually I figured out that he was just a good third-liner who got hot periodically. But still, if Leblanc turns into a healthier version of Brunet, that'd be OK. I think he has it in him to be somewhat more than that. But I could be wrong.

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Brunet is an interesting comparable. He was quite a valuable player when healthy.

The thing about Brunet is he'd go on these little offensive tears. I remember when he was still young, thinking, 'gee, if this guy ever puts it all together, he could be a good top-6 winger' :lol: Eventually I figured out that he was just a good third-liner who got hot periodically. But still, if Leblanc turns into a healthier version of Brunet, that'd be OK. I think he has it in him to be somewhat more than that. But I could be wrong.

Flashes yet ultimately a 3rd liner right. Dependable on both ends of the ice.

Not saying Leblanc is not and will not be valuable because we all need those Johnson or Brunet type of guys who don't cost us goals, provide character and still score 15 goals a year.

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Flashes yet ultimately a 3rd liner right. Dependable on both ends of the ice.

Not saying Leblanc is not and will not be valuable because we all need those Johnson or Brunet type of guys who don't cost us goals, provide character and still score 15 goals a year.

Brunet was roughly 0.5PPG guy, so likely comparable but a bit below offense we can expect and i think Leblanc seems to be a very smart player and "vision, IQ" is much better than Brunet. but even if maxs out at a Brunet career that will be fine.

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I apparently have higher hopes then some of you with Leblanc...I don't think he was as far along the development curve as some thought before making the move to Hamilton but that doesn't mean he's nothing more then a checking line C (albeit a good one if you think he's got 20 goal potential).

One thing I did want to address...Kris Draper was incredibly overrated. He was a good checking C that happened to play on a team with a very good top 6, very good D and good goaltending. That's it...let's all take a deep breath and stop sugar coating the checking line guys...unless you want to sound like a Leaf fan. And, since his name was mentioned somewhere, Kirk Maltby was garbage that must have had dirty photo's of management...and I'm being serious, I don't know how that guy got into the NHL. There are dozens of guys in competitive mens leagues with more talent...seriously the guy only had more then 24 points TWICE in a 16 year career (he was also a minus 8 of those years and was not a fighter at all)...how the !@#$ does that happen?

I still believe Leblanc has a chance to become a legit top 6 NHL calibre player in the right situation. Not sure the Habs are the right fit for him based on how their roster might shake out but he's got 1 to 2 years to try and carve out top line minutes in Hamiltion...so hopefully he can push his way into the mix at the NHL level.

I'm surprised that no one is saying that his ceiling is close to Plekanec...good 2 way C with 70 point ability and the potential to play on the PP and PK. Key word being ceiling.

If the Habs had a legit number 1 C then Pleks would be one of the better 2nd line C's in the league (and no, DD is not, and never will be that guy; like the aforementioned love of the grinders you all want the underdog to succeed). Would also allow a guy like Pleks to be more effective on special teams where he can excel. I think/hope Leblanc still has a chance to be Pleks replacement in 2-3 years...also when Galy hopefully becomes that legit number 1 C.

Before someone flames me on DD I'll simply say that I think he's a good 2nd line C on an average team...and looks like a he could be a #1 on a bad team.

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I still believe Leblanc has a chance to become a legit top 6 NHL calibre player in the right situation. Not sure the Habs are the right fit for him based on how their roster might shake out but he's got 1 to 2 years to try and carve out top line minutes in Hamiltion...so hopefully he can push his way into the mix at the NHL level.

I'm surprised that no one is saying that his ceiling is close to Plekanec...good 2 way C with 70 point ability and the potential to play on the PP and PK. Key word being ceiling.

If the Habs had a legit number 1 C then Pleks would be one of the better 2nd line C's in the league (and no, DD is not, and never will be that guy; like the aforementioned love of the grinders you all want the underdog to succeed). Would also allow a guy like Pleks to be more effective on special teams where he can excel. I think/hope Leblanc still has a chance to be Pleks replacement in 2-3 years...also when Galy hopefully becomes that legit number 1 C.

Before someone flames me on DD I'll simply say that I think he's a good 2nd line C on an average team...and looks like a he could be a #1 on a bad team.

NHL fans on the Internet are either victim to one of two things: overrating or underrating. Nobody wants to be the guy who predicts Jonas Gustavsson to become a Vezina winner so they prefer to keep their claims low. It's better to be "pleasantly surprised" than "terribly let down".

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