Former Canadiens first-round pick Louis LeBlanc retires, plans to return to Harvard

Seven years after the Montreal Canadiens made him a first-round draft pick, center Louis LeBlanc is hanging up his skates.

Seven years after the Montreal Canadiens made him a first-round draft pick, center Louis LeBlanc is hanging up his skates. But don't worry about his post-hockey career opportunities -- he's going back to Harvard to continue to his studies.

According to a report, LeBlanc decided to retire after finishing his 2015-16 season in the Swiss league with Lausanne, and has been in Boston looking for apartments.

This would be the end of a somewhat nomadic, and ultimately disappointing hockey career for the 25 year old. The Canadiens delighted their fans by taking the Quebec-born playmaker 18th overall in 2009 after one season of NCAA hockey at Harvard. He spent the following season in the QMJHL and helped Canada to a silver medal at the world juniors.

He made the jump to the NHL the very next season, appearing in 42 games for the Canadiens. But that was the height of his success. He spent most of the next four seasons in the AHL, and was traded to the Ducks for future considerations in 2014. This past season, he played in a total of 15 games across three leagues -- seven in the KHL, four in the Slovakian league, and four with Lausanne.

In all, LeBlanc played in 50 NHL games, scoring five goals and five assists.

But LeBlanc also shows that there's more to life than hockey by making the, presumably, difficult decision to retire at a young age to go back to school. Studying at Harvard isn't a bad Plan B.