B Y S C O T T TAY L O R
Photos by Laurie Anderson
BAND OF BROTHERS
I
t didn’t take Matt LeBlanc
and Brendan Bartlett
long to become friends.
Now, three years later,
it’s almost impossible to
separate them. As the
two 20-year-old veterans
consider the past while they
ponder their futures, one thing
remains certain: They are not
just friends, but very, very
close friends.
They showed up for
Winnipeg Blues camp for
the first time back in 2014.
They were young and were
both likely to be back in
Triple A Midget that year.
So, as rookies often do, they
bonded. After all, the veterans
didn’t care. They had their
own stuff to worry about. For
two rookies just trying to get
noticed, having a friend to lean
on was going to be important.
“We actually just met at
our first Blues rookie camp
together,” said LeBlanc. “We
were on the same team and I
saw Brendan in the dressing
room and I just went over and
introduced myself to him and
we became friends from there.”
Bartlett, a defenseman,
came to Winnipeg from
Kenora while LeBlanc, a
forward, drove in from Ile
des Chenes. At the start
of the 2015-16 season,
they made the Blues and
have been the backbone
of the team ever since.
These days, however, they’re
more than just teammates.
They’ve become such good
friends that Bartlett now
lives in Winnipeg with
LeBlanc and his parents.
“Ever since we met, we’ve
been good buddies,” Bartlett
said. “We hang out a lot.
Away from the rink Matt’s
one of the only guys I hang
out with. Our dads (Andrew
Bartlett and Allie LeBlanc)
have even become pretty
good buddies, too. We’ve
become good family friends.
“This past summer, I found
out my billet family was too
busy to be a billet family
again this year and Matt was
at my house when I got the
text saying that I’d lost my
THE BLUES’ BRENDAN
BARTLETT (LEFT) AND
MATT LEBLANC ARE
TEAMMATES, ROOMMATES
AND BEST OF FRIENDS
4 2 | G AME O N | D EC EM BER 2017