Ryan Leonard signed an entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals on Monday, a three-year deal with an average annual value of $950,000.
The 20-year-old forward is expected to join the Capitals ahead of their game against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, NESN, TVAS2, SN1), when Washington captain Alex Ovechkin resumes his pursuit of the NHL goal-scoring record five behind Wayne Gretzky.
Leonard, selected by Washington with the No. 8 pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, is one of 10 candidates for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award presented annually to recognize the top NCAA men’s hockey player. The three finalists will be revealed Thursday and the winner announced at the Stifel Theatre in St. Louis on April 11 (6 p.m. ET; NHLN), the day before the NCAA championship game at Enterprise Center on April 12.
Leonard ended his career at Boston College with 49 points (30 goals, 19 assists) in 37 games of his sophomore season, becoming the first NCAA player with back-to-back 30-goal seasons since Cam Atkinson for BC from 2009-11. He’s the first Eagles skater since Johnny Gaudreau in 2014 to be named Hockey East Player of the Year and was most valuable player of the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship after he tied for second among all players with 10 points (five goals, five assists) in seven games.
The United States captain had 10 points (five goals, five assists) in seven games, including two assists a 4-3 overtime win against Finland to help the U.S. win consecutive gold medals for the first time at World Juniors.
“He was great,” U.S. coach David Carle said after the game. “He’s an emotional leader. We know what he can do skill-wise and physicality-wise, but emotionally, I thought a lot of maturity out of him. Calm, steady on the bench, in the locker room. Just a quiet confidence to him. Total gamer and couldn’t have done it without him.”
NHL.com deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman contributed to this report
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
