Former NHL Tough Guy Makes Return To ECHL..It Was Not Biz

Murls2/22/2022 4:10 PM

Hockey fans may remember Pierre-Luc Létourneau-Leblond for having one of the longest names in NHL history but his calling card was his hard-working style and willingness to stick up for his teammates. A snapshot of his elite prospects page will show a 15 year pro career, but it's his PIMS every season that are nothing short of eye catching.

A 7th round pick of the New Jersey Devils in the 2004 Draft, he had to grind to make the NHL and play 41 games. Starting off the UHL, which has now become famous because of the Danbury Thrashers is not a league where you see many players graduate to the NHL. Pierre grinded out 3 years in the UHL, ECHL and the AHL before making his NHL Debut in the 2008-09 season. Watch these marathon fights with former Spittin’ Chiclets guests Cam Janssen and Shawn Thornton. These are just 2 of the many entertaining Leblond fights you will find on the Youtube deep dive.

Leblond’s career ended for the most part in 2017 after a season in the AHL with Syracuse Crunch. He decided to settle in my backyard, the Albany, NY area. He did appear in one game for the ECHL Adirondack Thunder when they were short on players in 2018 and for 23 games in the LNAH or commonly referred to as the Quebec Fighting League but for the most part he was retired.

Married and starting a family in Albany his hockey was reserved to the Men’s leagues in winter and summer and his work was now as a realtor selling homes. I skated with Pierre on a team one summer and it was mind-blowing the amount of these kids/guys that would actually go after him. The fact that a mens league bender did not respect the legend and actually try to play physical with him. Being the great guy he is, he always held back and never escalated any situations even though many times it would have been nice for these kids to learn a lesson. By the way we won the Championship that summer for Mcgeary’s. Is that good?

Well this all changed last Thursday with a text from the Assistant Coach of Trois-Rivieres in the ECHL hoping Pierre could find him a few local players to fill out their depleted roster. Pierre made a few calls to guys he knew could handle that level of play, but none of them could make it, myself included. Well, you know what that means, the 35-year old had to cancel his home showings for Friday because he needed to suit up to help his friend out.

His thought driving to the rink was that he would be an extra forward sitting at the end of the bench playing 2-3 minutes at most. Upon arrival at the rink, he looked at the lineup board only to see he was listed as the 9th forward. Take a deep breath because you are in one now and guaranteed to get more minutes than he has seen in many years. His time on the ice these days is spent running the skills program for Troy-Albany Youth Hockey so when he threw on his jersey he had no intentions of having to fight.

Well that plan blew up in his face because seconds into his first shift… he did what he has always done and answered the bell!!

“Boys will be boys!!” is a common alert that a great story is coming out of any hockey league but the ECHL produces more stories than mother goose. The casual fan who does not know how good of a league the ECHL is really should find a way to get to a game. The players are chasing their dreams of being a pro hockey player for not a lot of money and way too many long bus rides. For Pierre to lace them up at this level while being retired is an accomplishment that not many can do. For him to drop the mitts is something I can’t even imagine. This story is perfect timing, Biz will be doing a terrific in depth look a the ECHL and all the amazing things that go on in this league soon.

Take a look at another great story from the ECHL, Derrick Nesbitt of the Atlanta Gladiators who has played 1000 career games. Biznasty and the Crew will be at the game in Atlanta Friday February 25th to celebrate and share some Pink Whitney with everyone who can make it. Another true warrior of the game that deserves to be honored.