Leonard joining Capitals during Ovechkin's pursuit of Gretzky 'dream come true'

BOSTON -- Ryan Leonard was in the Boston College locker room, moments from signing with the Washington Capitals, when a text message popped up on his phone.

It was Alex Ovechkin.

"I read it in the locker room, all the guys were in there," Leonard said at TD Garden on Tuesday after his first NHL morning skate. "It was probably 5, 10 minutes before I actually signed. They're like, 'What? I don't know if you should respond to that.' I was like, 'I kind of have to.' But it was pretty cool."

It was a whirlwind of a few days that found the 20-year-old forward heading out to get sushi with Ovechkin and a few other new teammates, as he readied himself to jump into the NHL with the Capitals, who are in the midst of both the race to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Presidents' Trophy and Ovechkin's pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record.

Ovechkin has 890, four from tying Gretzky and five from breaking the record.

"Just to go to dinner with those guys and meet all those guys, really just trying to embrace the moment, spend quality time with those guys," Leonard said. "Not a lot of time you're getting to go to dinner with one of the greats, so just trying to embrace it."

Less than 24 hours after Leonard signed his entry-level contract, a three-year deal with an average annual value of $950,000, and less than 48 hours from Boston College losing to Denver in the NCAA Regional Final on Sunday, knocking the Eagles out before the Frozen Four, Leonard had already broken bread with his new teammates and is set to make his debut against the host Boston Bruins (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, NESN, TVAS2, SN1).

"It's been a dream come true, meeting all the guys and really looking forward to tonight," said Leonard, who was selected by Washington with the No. 8 pick at the 2023 NHL Draft.

Not only was Leonard set to make his debut as a top-six forward on a top contender for the Stanley Cup, he was set to make his debut in a familiar rink, a place he contended for the Beanpot Tournament in for Boston College, in his home state of Massachusetts. Enough friends and family were headed to TD Garden for the game that he couldn't figure out the number, including all of his BC teammates.

"Just going out there for a morning skate and just thinking about being here at BC, and then now turn the page and being a pro," Leonard said. "It's pretty weird to think about, but it's pretty cool."

During the morning's skate, he and Ovechkin swapped sticks for a moment. Ovechkin, though, wasn't pleased with what he felt. As he put it, "It's too whippy. He's 80 [flex]."

But he did have words of advice for his newest teammate.

"Just play your game," said Ovechkin, the Capitals captain. "Don't try too much. I'm pretty sure it's going to be lots of energy. Probably he's going to be nervous, but I'm pretty sure he's going to be fine."

Leonard was set to play with Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas, a spot Ovechkin has frequently held.

"Give him a good opportunity to play inside of our top six; I think that was objective one," Washington coach Spencer Carbery said. "Objective two; give him a couple of linemates that can help him through situations, whether that's a communication standpoint or pro being a really smart, intelligent, in-the-right spot type of players. I think those are two characteristics that I look at that can help a young player playing in his first NHL game."

However, as Carbery added, there were no expectations for Leonard, "other than go out there and compete your butt off."

"He's shown a lot over the last couple of years," Carbery said. "He's a great player. He's got good pace to his game. 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, to do it in his home state, in the Garden, is pretty special. I just want him to go out and work his butt off and enjoy the moment."

The Capitals enter TD Garden on a three-game skid (0-2-1), having dropped games to the Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets in the past week. With nine games remaining in their regular season and a playoff berth clinched, Carbery said Leonard could provide a boost for a team that could use, as he put it, "a little bit of added jump," both in his game and in his impact on his new teammates.

After Leonard returned to BC this season, he finished as one of the 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, presented annually to the top NCAA men's hockey player. He had 49 points (30 goals, 19 assists) in 37 games this season, his sophomore year, and was the first NCAA player with back-to-back 30-goal seasons since Cam Atkinson did it for BC from 2009-11.

"Just seeing him in development camp and then the seasons that he's had at BC and playing in the World Juniors and what he's put on display, what he's done in college and on the world stage, he's earned all of the accolades and all of the attention that he's getting," Carbery said.

So, how was his pulse rate, hours before he was set to make his debut?

"Not too high right now," Leonard said. "We'll see probably about like 6:45, 6:50."

It might get a little higher then, when Leonard takes the ice at TD Garden, just a quick drive from Conte Forum but a world away.

"It's just crazy that this is actually happening, this close to school, this close to home," Leonard said. "Can't really put it into words."