Ryan Leonard was knocked around in the Washington Capitals’ 7-0 loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
The 20-year-old winger took a big hit from Adam Fantilli, briefly sending him into concussion protocol, and later got into his first NHL fight against Sean Kuraly.
Leonard finished the game with 15:13 time on ice, one hit, four shots on goal, and seven penalty minutes. While he ended up on the wrong side of a lot of the rough stuff, Leonard’s competitive drive and bounce-back ability impressed his head coach Spencer Carbery.
“Yeah, just appreciated the fact that he was right there at the forefront competing and not backing down, involved, around the puck, had some good scoring chances,” Carbery said postgame. “Obviously, the physicality part of it, so for a young player to play in that situation and not back down an inch says a lot about his character and who he is as a person even at his age and as a competitor coming into this league.”
Leonard’s rough-and-tumble afternoon also drew praise from veteran center Nic Dowd, who appreciated the 2023 first-round pick not backing down in a challenging game for the Capitals.
“That’s something that you can’t teach,” Dowd said. “I think right away from his first game, it was evident that he’s not gonna shy away from the physicality of the NHL, which is great because, like I said, you can’t teach that. You can teach a lot of things, but the ability to compete is something that guys either have or don’t have, and I think Leno has continued to show that he definitely has that, which is great.”
Leonard’s wild first two weeks in the NHL only continued this weekend as less than 24 hours before puck drop on Saturday, he was in St. Louis at the Hobey Baker Award Presentation ceremony. While he ultimately didn’t take home the award, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported that being in person for the ceremony was still important for the former Boston College standout, even if it meant his travel plans to Columbus became unorthodox.
“The plan was for him to get into a car with his parents and his agent and drive all the way here to Columbus – they were supposed to get in around 2 am,” Kaplan said on ABC. “Last minute, he got a commercial flight. I heard he made it by a couple minutes. Guys, talk about a low-maintenance star – I was told it was a Southwest flight, and he’s going to play here today.”
The Amherst, Massachusetts native was then a guest on ABC’s pregame show, where he spoke with Steve Levy, PK Subban, and Mark Messier. The three asked him about adapting to the NHL level and how he’s been able not to shy away from playing solid minutes on the Eastern Conference-best Capitals. Leonard is averaging 14:47 of time on ice per game in his first six NHL games and has one goal.
“I don’t know – just playing with confidence is something you gotta do to make a living in this league, so, hopefully, just trying to put my best foot out there every game and have an impact,” Leonard said. “I got extremely lucky with the group that I was brought into, and I’m trying to make the most of it.”
The Capitals and Leonard will have an immediate opportunity for revenge against the Blue Jackets, as both teams are headed east for a rematch at Capital One Arena on Sunday.
