Stephan Leblanc officially retires after over decade of success in the NLL
Stephan Leblanc (Photo: Kyle Hess)
Stephan Leblanc officially retired from the National Lacrosse League this week, the league posting the Georgia Swarm roster move on their transaction page on Tuesday evening.
The Dundas, Ontario native joins a lengthy list of standout vets that hung up their gloves this past offseason. Also retiring from professional lacrosse this year were Scott Campbell, Scott Carnegie, and Leblanc’s short-lived Swarm teammates Mike Poulin, Jordan Hall and Joel White. Saskatchewan Rush forward Jeff Shattler is also expected to retire.
Leblanc spent twelve seasons in the NLL, most of which were with the Toronto Rock (2010-2018), where the former first round draft pick (11th overall out of Queens University of Charlotte & the Burlington Chiefs) was named Rookie of the Year and was an integral member of the club’s 2011 NLL Cup win too.
He first fell in love with the sport after his father took him to a Rochester Knighthawks & Ontario Raiders (relocated to Toronto to become the Rock) game in January of 1998 at Hamilton’s Copps Coliseum.
In addition to the Rock, Leblanc played three years with the New England Black Wolves (2018-2020) and last year split his final season in the league between the Halifax Thunderbirds and Swarm. He was traded twice on the same day in 2022, first from Halifax to Panther City, then hours later to Georgia.
“Steph Leblanc has been an excellent player in this league for many years,” said Georgia Head Coach Ed Comeau soon after the Swarm traded for Leblanc last year. “We are thrilled to have him join the Swarm and bring his experience and selfless play to the team.”
The skilled power forward finished his career with 849 regular season points (323G, 525A), and netted 73 points during the playoffs too (27G, 46A), finishing second in the league in post-season point production during his incredible rookie campaign in 2010.
A strong loose-ball snatcher in the offensive zone, Leblanc just missed 100 LB during multiple campaigns, and impressively ended his career with 889 scoops.
While his goal scoring stats slipped in recent years, Leblanc was still extremely clutch, scoring four game winners in his last two years. The recent retiree also scored the game-winning goal for the Rock during that 2011 Cup run.