Twins going to the Twin Cities
Andrew and Jacob LeBlanc taken by Kitchener Rangers in OHL draft after saying they are ‘package deal’
Twin brothers Andrew and Jacob LeBlanc will continue playing together when they take their pursuit of careers in the National Hockey League to the next level.
Fittingly, the 15-year-olds from Wainfleet are going be starting their Ontario Hockey League careers in — where else? — the Twin Cities.
On Saturday, the Kitchener Rangers selected Andrew, a left-shooting centre, and Jacob, a right-hand-shot defenceman, in the first and third rounds, respectively, in the OHL Priority Selection.
Andrew was taken with the 17th pick and his brother, who is older by one minute, 42nd overall with a pick Kitchener received from the Niagara IceDogs.
Blood is much thicker than the frozen brine water used to make arena ice to the Grade 10 students at Lakeshore Catholic High School in Port Colborne. Seventeen of the 20 teams expressed interest heading into the draft and the LeBlancs informed all of them they wanted to go as a package deal, or they would not be going at all.
“We let all teams know we were going to be a package deal. It would be hard to play separately.” Andrew said. “I just think it was best for both of us to be together.”
Jacob was on the same page as his twin heading into the draft.
“We’ve been together our whole lives. We’ve been together 24-7. We do everything together,” he said.
That “twin connection” lets each know where the other is on the ice at all times
“We thought it would be most beneficial for our hockey careers and just our overall lives if we stuck together,” Jacob said.
Had push come to shove and they were taken separately in the draft, the brothers were prepared to take the NCAA route. They had full-ride offers — Cornell and Harvard were among the Division 1 programs that expressed interest — they could consider as an alternate to advance their hockey careers.
“That was our backup plan if we weren’t able to go together,” said Andrew.
While the NCAA offers were tempting, and appealing in their own right, that option was a Plan B, far down their list, as far as the brothers were concerned.
“I just thought the OHL was the best route to get to the NHL,” Andrew said. “That’s obviously the end goal. That’s the dream.”
Andrew had a “rough idea” he would be going either late in the opening round or early in the second after scoring 25 goals and collecting 43 assists in 31 games for the Admirals last season.
He is looking forward to playing for the Rangers, an organization he described as one of the best in the history of the Canadian Hockey League.
“Great rink. Great facilities. Great training. Great coaching. Great everything,” he said.
Jacob admitted it was difficult waiting for his name to be called in the third round by the Rangers after Andrew was taken in the first round.
“It was pretty stressful, nerveracking. We were excited and happy for Andrew, but we were just hoping no one would take me in between,” he said.
Andrew, who ranks playmaking ability, hockey IQ and competitiveness as his strengths, doesn’t find the prospect of a steep learning curve all that daunting. “I just have to get my confidence up. I can fit in with them easily,” he said.
Jacob styles his defensive play after Thomas Chabot of the Ottawa Senators.
“He’s highly skilled, he’s an offensive defenceman. He’s very smart, makes the right plays,” Jacob said. “He’s able to control the pace of the game from the back end.”
The family clause turned out to be a bonus for the Rangers.
“We picked Andrew first, but we really value Jacob, as well,” said Kitchener general manager Mike McKenzie.
“We don’t think he’s a third-round player. We had him rated much higher than that.”
McKenzie, who is also the team’s interim head coach, considered taking forward Adam Fantilli with the team’s first pick. But Fantilli, considered the best player in the draft, saw his draft stock plummet after announcing his commitment to play in the United States Hockey League with the Chicago Steel.
“We definitely looked at that option (Fantilli),” McKenzie said. “We laid out a lot of scenarios beforehand and had a pretty good sense of what we were going to do.
“Andrew was a guy we liked all season and we were surprised to see him last that long and we were happy he fell to us.”
Thorold Blackhawks owner-head coach Scott Barnes has been working with the twins since they were about four years old at his hockey clinics.
He praised both as highly skilled and smart players.
“Andrew is a very offensive forward who competes hard. He has unbelievable puck skills and puck protection,” Barnes said. “Jacob’s defensive skating and positioning are strong, and he has such a great stick that he’s tough to play against.”
The twins won’t be the only graduates of the Southern Tier Admirals triple-A minor midget program trying to open the 2020-21 season in The O with the Blueshirts. Kitchener used a pick from the Mississauga Steelheads to select leftwinger Trent Swick 47th overall.
The 15-year-old from Thorold had 26 goals and 29 assists for 55 points in 32 games in minor midget last season.
“We’ve been together our whole lives. We’ve been together 24-7. We do everything together.” JACOB LEBLANC SOUTHERN TIER ADMIRALS TRIPLE-A MINOR MIDGET DEFENCEMAN