Last summer, I was having a casual conversation with a high-ranking official within the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League when the subject of Louis Leblanc came up.First off I want to preface this with I am not anti-CHL like some of my fellow college hockey bloggers are, personally I see the benefits of both leagues and the NCAA can’t expect to win over all of the blue chip American players. I also don't think it's productive and to constantly stoke the flames of discontent when it comes to the NCAA vs the CHL doesn't solve anything and you’re never going to change anyone’s mind anyways.
The Canadiens had recently selected Leblanc in the first round (18th overall) of the 2009 National Hockey League entry draft. The 6-foot, 178-pound centre from Pointe Claire had already announced he was headed for Harvard University to play NCAA hockey.
The QMJHL official, although obviously somewhat biased, thought Leblanc was making a mistake by not playing major-junior hockey.
"If the kid was going to go to Harvard for four years and get his degree, I'd say, great, go for it," he said. "But he's not. He's probably only going to play two years and then sign a pro contract and leave."
He added that by taking the NCAA route, Leblanc would jeopardize his chances of making Team Canada for the world junior championship, explaining that by the time the selection camp was held in December, Leblanc would only have played about 10 games with Harvard, while major-junior players would have played more than 30.
He also said that as a French-speaking first-round pick of the Canadiens there was no doubt the club would sign Leblanc to a contract. He added that if his hockey career didn't work out, Leblanc is a smart enough kid to get accepted into just about any university and would have the money to pay for a Harvard education once he hangs up his skates.
Basically, his thinking was that Leblanc's No. 1 priority right now should be hockey.
I was thinking about that conversation last weekend when Leblanc announced he was leaving Harvard after only one year, signing a three-year entry-level contract with the Canadiens that reportedly could be worth as much as $3.6 million U.S.
Leblanc played 31 games with Harvard last season, posting 11-12-23 totals, and failed to make Team Canada.
Leblanc will play this season with the QMJHL's Montreal Juniors and the spotlight will be shining very brightly on him. The Juniors will hold a press conference with Leblanc on Tuesday at a Crescent St. restaurant, which you can be sure will result in a media circus.[Read the whole story]
I never understood why this kid didn’t make team Canada during last years WJC as well. Leblanc is definitely the real deal. Also, former Fighting Sioux hockey player Jonathan Toews as well as a few other Canadian NCAA hockey players had managed to make the team Canada WJC roster while playing College Hockey in the USA. The question out there is who pressured Luis Leblanc to leave Harvard and sign with the QMJHL? Did someone convince him he wouldn’t be making the Canadian WJC if had stayed at Harvard?
I agree that there are a lot of advantages for both CHL and NCAA. However, it's the posturing and bush league tactics employed by the CHL that I have a problem with.
ReplyDeleteSure, the NCAA would do the same thing to the CHL (or try at least) if CHL kids could play in the NCAA without losing eligibility, but since that can't happen, it makes the behaviors seem all the more pronounced.
One of said bush league tactics is in this article. "Playing in the NCAA hurts your chances to make the Team Canada WJC team." I think that's a sad claim to make to a kid who loves his country but thinks that the NCAA route benefits him more than the CHL route (for whatever reason). It wasn't new to Leblanc. It happened to Jonny Toews and a few others as well.
Another tactic they use is that, once the choice is made the CHL often ignores it... well certain teams do anyways. They're called the "Trifecta of Evil." Those clubs being Red Deer (WHL), London (OHL), and Moncton (QMJHL). They're not the only ones that do this but they've been the ones that have jumped out the most, at least to me.
What I'm talking about is continuing to recruit players to their CHL teams even after the player suited up for the NCAA team. Uh... he made his choice.
This makes me feel that, though the CHL fans claim we should be more respectful to the CHL, the CHL fans and the CHL itself has very little respect the other way around.
Their arrogance in pooh-poohing any player that commits to the NCAA as second tier players and all the blue chippers go CHL for the most part is just plain aggravating. I don't see why we should spend so much time being respectful to a league where the league itself and the fans are not respectful to us in the first place.
So it is a pissing match. And that's why I support Paul Kelly so much. In an immature way it is turnabout on the CHL.
More often then not, NCAA fans can see the rationale behind a player deciding to go Major Juniors (Like Lessio, the former Michigan recruit, or Campbell, the same). But when a player targetted by the CHL decides to go the NCAA route, it's met by scorn and scoffing by CHL fans.
That's why I dislike the CHL. It has nothing to do with how good or bad the CHL really is or why players choose to go there.