The centre of attention
All the pieces fell into place for Andrew LeBlanc this season.
The 15-year-old, Grade 10 student at Lakeshore Catholic in Port Colborne put together his finest season to date, leading the Southern Tier Admirals in scoring in both the regular season and the playoffs.
LeBlanc collected 25 goals and 68 points in 31 regular season games and then added 14 goals and 34 points in 13 post-season games as the Admirals put together an impressive 24-3-5 record and were the No. 1 seed headed into the Esso Cup, which was not played due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
LeBlanc centred the Admirals top line with OMHA player of the year Sam Alfano and Trent Swick on his wings.
“I was obviously lucky to play with (Trent Swick and Sam Alfano). They’re great guys and I was happy to be able to perform the way I did,” LeBlanc said.
LeBlanc said he knew how well he performed this season would go a long way to determine if would be drafted into the Ontario Hockey League.
“Last year I didn’t think I really performed that well,” he said. “Over the summer I was training and thinking to myself this is the most important year. It’s a big deal and luckily I was able to play the way I did.
“I just needed the confidence and I had that this year coming in every night ready to play.”
The 2020 OHL Draft will be held Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. According to Prospectpipeline.ca, LeBlanc is ranked 40th in the draft.
“It’s always been a dream and even last year nothing was for sure,” he said. “Just taking it year by year and this year being able to come out strong and have a good year, teams were starting to talk and I was getting a little excited but I didn’t want to get ahead of myself. Close to the end I was getting pretty excited.”
LeBlanc admits the past couple of weeks have been tough with no school or hockey to distract him.
“We’ve been looking forward to it for a couple of years so obviously it’s a big thing,” he said. “I’m not that nervous. Being at home for the past couple of weeks with the quarantine I’m getting a bit anxious but whatever happens, happens.
“We’ve talked to almost all the teams but nothing’s for sure. Just have to wait and see what happens. Playing in the OHL is a dream so there isn’t any specific place. Any team would be nice.”
Admirals coach Kevin Rosebrugh is a big fan of LeBlanc’s offensive abilities.
“Andrew Leblanc has probably the best vision of any player I’ve seen at this age,” Rosebrugh said. “He’s one of the top playmaking centre available. He has unbelievable hands and touch in traffic areas. His puck protection and shiftiness are top notch.”
Prospectpipeline.ca also rave about LeBlanc’s offence.
“The Southern Tier Admirals dominated the SCTA in 2019-20 and were led offensively by a trio of dynamic young prospects. Of the lot, none were more impressive than Andrew Leblanc — a crafty and purposeful centre who thrives in all three zones of the ice. In addition to playing a responsible defensive game, Leblanc is downright deadly in the attacking zone — he features tremendous vision as well as the confidence and work ethic necessary to fuel his team’s offensive attack. In fact, after averaging more than 2.19 points per game played in the regular season, Leblanc cranked up his production in the postseason — averaging a whopping 2.62 points per game played.”
LeBlanc, whose twin brother Jacob is a defenceman for the Admirals, feels he needs to round out his game.
“I think I have to work on my defensive play,” he said. “Offensively, I think I’m there but I have to become more of a 200-foot player. Just work all around and work on my face-offs because at the next level those are really important. I need to keep training and get bigger and stronger and hopefully fill out more.”
For more on the draft see links below:
Wyatt Gibson profile at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/better-late-than-never/
Keaton Zavitz profile at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/captain-zavitz-hopes-for-ohl-shot/
Ethan Whitcomb profile at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/clutch-player-eyes-ohl-draft/
Connor Thomson-Dick profile at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/commitment-to-hockey-pays-off/
Derek Smythe profile at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/smythe-content-to-stay-home/
Trent Swick profile at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/hard-work-pays-off-for-swick/
Jacob LeBlanc profile at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/leblanc-brothers-sticking-together/
Tai York profile at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/york-hoping-to-fulfill-ohl-dream/
Sam Alfano profile at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/alfano-anxious-for-ohl-draft/
Nathan Duplessis profile at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/late-bloomer-chases-ohl-dream/
Niagara IceDogs draft preview at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/icedogs-looking-for-impact-players-at-draft/
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