Canadiens 2009 first round draft pick Louis Leblanc and 21 other prospects will attend the team’s prospect development camp in Brossard on June 1. The list of invited players includes 11 team draft choices, five signed free agents and six invited players, of which three are goaltenders.
Players of interest other than Leblanc include 2008 second round rick Danny Kristo, who played on last season’s U.S. WJC entry and is likely destined for Hamilton, Gabriel Dumont, who scored 51 goals in the Q last season and finished up in Hamilton, and 2009 third rounder Joonas Natinnen.
Of course it will be Leblanc under the spotlight most, as his first season at Harvard seems to have fallen short of the player’s personal expectations. Although he did win the ECAC rookie award, Leblanc was injured for part of the season, and their is thinking amongst the player’s inner circle that those eventualities have slowed his development.
With an eye on the pros, Leblanc has made changes in his life, and has switched agents, passing over Kent Hughes and Philippe Lecavalier for Pat Brisson. The trading of his QMJHL rights from Val d’Or to Chicoutimi last season seems to have provided Leblanc with more options to consider, as the Sagueneens are poised to be a top Quebec league team come the 2010-11 season.
Here is the list of players invited to camp June 1.
