Number Nine – In the half century history of the Washington Capitals, 255 players have made their NHL debuts with the Caps, and 170 of those players were Washington draft choices. Both of those totals will increase by one when Ryan Leonard takes the ice in Boston tonight for his NHL debut.
Leonard, a 20-year-old Massachusetts native, was Washington’s first-round pick (eighth overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft. And after two stellar seasons with Boston College – he is one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award this season – Leonard signed a three-year entry level contract with the Capitals on Monday. He joined some of his new Caps teammates for dinner on Monday night in Beantown, and participated in his first NHL morning skate here today.
Few NHL debuts in recent Caps history have moved the needle of interest like Leonard’s has; his is a perfect storm of timing, with his debut coming in his home state – and only because BC lost on Sunday – and during the short strokes of the Alex Ovechkin chase toward Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record (894). Ovechkin is five goals shy of breaking the mark.
Leonard, who turned 20 in January, has played for the US National Development Team Program, Boston College and Team USA in various international tournaments. All of those situations were finite and fleeting, compared to signing with an NHL club where he might follow in the skatesteps of Ovechkin, John Carlson, and Tom Wilson, players who’ve been in the organization for more than a decade beyond their draft day. Additionally, the Caps' willingness to burn the first year of his entry level deal shows their belief in his ability to make an impact.
“First and foremost, I think everyone here has a lot of trust in me, and I want to thank them for that,” says Leonard. “Coming in [Monday] and meeting all the guys and meeting a couple of the guys I didn’t see [Monday], the group in here seems like they like to have a good time, and they keep it loose in here. It makes my job easy out there on the ice, knowing that the guys in here aren’t going to shame you, but they’re going to be your brothers, too.”
Tonight, Leonard takes the ice for the first time in the NHL, skating the right side of a line with Aliaksei Protas and Dylan Strome.
“Giving him a good opportunity to play inside our top six, I think that was objective one,” says Caps coach Spencer Carbery. “Objective two, give him a couple of linemates that can help him with situations, whether that’s a communication standpoint or Pro being a really intelligent, in-the-right-spot type of player, I think those are two characteristics that I look at that can help a young player that’s playing his first NHL game.”
Two nights ago, Leonard’s Boston College team was eliminated from the NCAA’s postseason tournament by Denver, the same team that ousted the Eagles in the Frozen Four final last year. Leonard goes from the agony of that setback on Sunday to the elation of his NHL debut tonight, all in a span of about 48 hours.
“It sucked to lose like that, especially to Denver too, losing to them last year,” laments Leonard. “But they had a great club, and I just had so much fun with our team this year. It was the best decision to go back for another year just grow a lot and mature, too. So it was definitely the right choice.”
On Monday, minutes before Leonard signed his contract, he received a text from Alex Ovechkin, welcoming him to the squad and inviting him to dinner with a few of his new teammates.
“I read it in the locker room, and all [my BC teammates] were in there because it was probably 5 or 10 minutes before I actually signed,” recounts Leonard. “And they're like, ‘What?? I don’t know if you should respond to that.’ And I was like, ‘I kind of have to.’ It was pretty cool.”
Boston is a rocking good town where it’s easy to find something wonderful to eat and something fun to do without wandering far, and where culture and history abound. Even on a Monday night, there’s a buzz and a bustle on the streets. Leonard and his new teammates made at least one stop post-dinner as well.
“Just hanging out with those guys, it was pretty cool,” says Leonard. “Ovi wanted to see where I went to school, so we went there for 30 minutes or an hour just to show him, and he loved it. I’m just trying to really embrace this moment, build the connections, and try to have fun.”
Leonard’s debut is somewhat similar to that of Tom Wilson, nearly a dozen years ago. Neither had played in an NHL preseason game prior to suiting up for a regular season game, and both debuted less than two years after hearing their name called on the draft floor. Wilson made his NHL debut in the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2013, after playing in both the Memorial Cup playoffs with OHL Plymouth and the Calder Cup playoffs with AHL Hershey earlier that spring.
“I think our styles are similar, where it's go out there and get into the mix, play hard, and take the fight to the to the opponent,” says Wilson. “I think that in situations like this, where there might be some nerves and it's a big stage, that type of style bodes well to just go out there and play. It’s hit or get hit, get into the mix and make plays. That was my mentality; is to just do what got you here. And I think he's a kid that's had amazing success with his style of play. He's a confident player; I had dinner with him [Monday] night, and you feel the confidence from him, and I think that's a good thing when you’re a young player coming in and you believe, believe in yourself.
“And it's a big stage for him, in his ‘home school’ town and first game. I'm excited to take it in and watch him.”
Leonard’s older brother John, a San Jose sixth-round choice in the 2018 NHL Draft, has played 70 games across parts of four seasons in the NHL, and he is having a career year with the AHL Charlotte Checkers this season.
Leonard is one of six players on the current Washington roster whose brother also plays or played in the NHL.
“Just go out there and have fun; don’t overcomplicate it,” was John Leonard’s advice to his younger brother.
“There’s not a lot of expectations, other than go out there and compete your butt off,” says Carbery. “Don’t worry, don’t overthink, don’t feel like you’re not in the right spot or ‘Did I understand the systems correctly?’ Go out there and compete your butt off and show your skill set.
“He has shown a lot over the last couple of years, he’s a great player, he’s got good pace to his game. So go use his individual attributes that he has and go have fun. You get one opportunity to play your first NHL game in front of friends and family, and to do it in his home state in the Garden is pretty special. I just want him to go and work his butt off and enjoy the moment.”
Sign, Sign, Everywhere A Sign – For the last two months, the Capitals have been busy getting players to sign on the line which is dotted. Logan Thompson, Charlie Lindgren, Jakob Chychrun, Dylan McIlrath, Ryan Leonard and David Gucciardi have all signed contracts or contract extensions since late January.
Tuesday was no exception. The Caps announced this morning that they signed forward Spencer Smallman to a two-year, two-way contract that pays him $775,000 at the NHL level and $380,000 at the AHL level.
Originally a fifth-round pick (138th overall) of the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2015 NHL Draft, the 28-year-old native of Summerside, PEI turned pro late in the 2017-18 season. Smallman has 33 points (nine goals, 24 assists) in 55 games with AHL Hershey this season.
Smallman has skated in 299 career AHL games with Charlotte, Chicago, Colorado and Hershey, totaling 128 points (47 goals, 81 assists).
Good While It Lasted – Sunday’s game against Buffalo was the 60th consecutive contest in which the Caps dressed the same group of six defensemen, but the streak comes to an end tonight in Beantown.
Blueliner Matt Roy isn’t on the trip with the team for personal, family reasons, and Dylan McIlrath will suit up and play in his stead. Ironically, McIlrath is the only other blueliner to suit up for Washington during that 60-game stretch, and he dressed and played just once, here in Boston on Dec. 23 of last year, suiting up as a seventh defenseman and taking just three shifts.
In The Nets – Charlie Lindgren gets the net for the Caps tonight in Boston. Last season, Lindgren blanked the Bruins twice – in Boston on Feb. 10, 2024 and in the District on April 15 in the Caps’ penultimate game of the regular season. Both of those victories were critical in the Caps’ late-season ascension into a playoff berth. Tonight, he aims for his 17th victory of the season.
Lifetime against Boston, Lindgren is 2-2-2 in five appearances – all starts – with the two shutouts, a 1.66 GAA and a .933 save pct.
Jeremy Swayman is the starter for the Bruins tonight. Swayman is 20-26-6 on the season, and he has picked up four of Boston’s five wins in the last 65 days (5-15-3). He and Joonas Korpisalo have alternated starting assignments over Boston’s last seven games, but Swayman breaks that pattern tonight; he was also in net for the B’s most recent game, a Saturday loss to the Red Wings in Detroit.
Lifetime against Washington, Swayman is 3-5-0 in nine appearances (eight starts) with a sparkling 1.73 GAA and a .931 save pct.
All Lined Up – Here’s how we believe the Capitals and the Bruins might look on Tuesday night in Beantown:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
21-Protas, 17-Strome, 9-Leonard
8-Ovechkin 80-Dubois, 43-Wilson
88-Mangiapane, 20-Eller, 24-McMichael
22-Duhaime, 26-Dowd, 72-Beauvillier
Defensemen
38-Sandin, 74-Carlson
6-Chychrun, 57-van Riemsdyk
42-Fehervary, 52-McIlrath
Goaltenders
79-Lindgren
48-Thompson
Extras
16-Raddysh
27-Alexeyev
53-Frank
Out/Injured
3-Roy (personal)
15-Milano (upper body)
19-Backstrom (hip)
77-Oshie (back)
BOSTON
Forwards
39-Geekie, 18-Zacha, 88-Pastrnak
92-Khusnutdinov, 28-Lindholm, 23-Lysell
45-Koepke, 11-Mittelstadt, 95-Lettieri
94-Lauko, 19-Beecher, 38-Brown
Defensemen
91-Zadorov, 20-Jokiharju
6-Lohrei, 52-Peeke
29-Wotherspoon, 14-Mitchell
Goaltenders
1-Swayman
70-Korpisalo
Extras
79-Callahan
Out/Injured
27-H. Lindholm (lower body)
47-Kastelic (upper body)
73-McAvoy (upper body)
