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For the first time in his pro career, Syracuse Crunch forward Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond has the option to wear his full 18-character last name on the back of his sweater.

(Lindsay Kramer | LKramer@syracuse.com)

Syracuse, N.Y. — Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond has played 489 career AHL and NHL games with a combined nine teams without being asked the simple question tossed his way when he joined the Syracuse Crunch this season.

What name would you like on the back of your jersey?

It's an obvious inquiry, but the length of Letourneau-Leblond's last name always made "Leblond'' the default choice of his previous teams. Letourneau-Leblond said he's never worn his full 18-character last name (including the hyphen) on the back of a pro sweater.

Until, perhaps, this year.

The Crunch made a special nameplate that crams together all the letters in Letourneau-Leblond. The veteran enforcer was scratched in Syracuse's first two games and he still isn't sure he's going to use it because he first wants to see how it looks. But he sounded enthusiastic about having the option.

"I was shocked when they offered that," he said. "It's something I never even considered. When you get the chance to play for a team, you take what they give you. I never even wondered or asked about it. I like it. It's my name. Why not?''

If Letourneau-Leblond does go that route, he could make hockey history.

Several veteran observers were stumped in their attempts to recall a longer name on the back of an AHL or NHL jersey.

There have been many challengers. For instance, Jonathan Audy-Marchessault (17 characters) used to get that last name across his shoulders when he played for Springfield but he then tightened things up by dropping the "Audy'' prior to joining the Crunch.

The Crunch also once dressed a player who went by the full name of Jordan Lavallee-Smotherman. But when playing for the Crunch, he simply used "Smotherman.''



Pierre-Luc gets the Letourneau from his mother's side while Leblond represents his father. The player said his mom's family would be especially thrilled with the change since they are huge hockey fans and never got equal sweater representation.

"I feel like it's something I should have done my whole life,'' he said. "They probably would have liked to see that name up when I was in the NHL. It's never too late. If I can do it in the AHL, I'm proud of it.''

Letourneau-Leblond's last name also creates autograph challenges. He said he most often goes with "PLL-Leblond'' although if he's short on space he'll just drop in the more common "PL3.''

Letourneau-Leblond said when he first started out in youth hockey, he was naive enough to practice inking the whole name.

"In juniors, I had no idea. The guys (teammates) would just laugh. (Say) 'Man, you can't sign that way. It's too long of a name.'

"I didn't know. I never thought I'd sign anything. I never thought I'd give an autograph when I was growing up. I played (lower level) Midget Double B. I didn't know anything about that. So when I first got up (to major juniors) I had no idea. So I just wrote my name. I mean, that's my name.''

And it's one that could force Letourneau-Leblond to bulk up beyond his 6-foot-1, 220-pound frame. He joked when pondering how the last name would fit on his back.

"I started working out, trying to get bigger up top to have bigger shoulders,'' he said. "It might be too late for that, though.''

Contact Lindsay Kramer anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-470-2151

