Alongside Will Smith’s rising draft stock and Gabe Perreault’s rising draft stock is the third member of that line, Ryan Leonard. This may surprise you, but Leonard’s stock for the 2023 NHL Draft is also on the rise.
Leonard in preliminary rankings was seen as a player just outside the top 10 in some cases, hanging on to the top 15 or 20 but he has elevated his profile with a solid end to his season, and a great performance at the World Under 18 championships.
Birthplace: Amherst, Massachusetts
Date of birth: January 25, 2005
Shoots: Right
Position: Centre
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 181 lbs.
Team: U.S. National Team Development Program
Scouts have a tough time determining whether Leonard will be a centre or a wing at the NHL level. He is listed as a centre, but played wing on the line with Smith and Perreault, with Smith having taken most of the faceoffs. It’s more likely that he will end up a wing at the next level, but with the ability to take faceoffs and kill penalties.
Leonard finished the U18s with eight goals and nine assists in seven games, and while he had fewer points than his linemates, he did end the tournament with three game-winning goals. The tournament came on the heels of a great season with the US Development Team where his production was very good – 51 goals and 43 assists in 57 games, but well behind his two linemates.
He is committed to Boston College next season where he is slated to continue playing with the two linemates he has spent so much time with at multiple levels.
He burst on the scene at last year’s Under-18 tournament where he had five goals in six games as an under-aged player. He used that momentum to carry him into this season.
The thing that sticks out when you watch Leonard is that he has a motor that just doesn’t stop. He is a very good skater, and he is able to move the puck into good positions for his teams. What makes him so dangerous is his acceleration and ability to win races to the puck because of his first few strides.
His tracking data shows that he is one of the best transition players in the draft class. He is a player who will carry the puck out of his zone and into the offensive zone, and that makes him a very productive player. He doesn’t retrieve the puck a lot, so he does usually need someone to get him the puck. Once he has it, he succeeds more often than not.
When he’s not carrying the puck in, he’s also a player who will get the puck to dangerous areas. His boards to middle plays shows that he is someone who is able to play in small spaces and create advantages. It’s something that a lot of skill coaches talk about. Once you get to the NHL, it’s about finding yourself out of trouble in low-percentage areas and that’s something that Leonard does well.
When you compare him to other players in the US Development Program and USHL, it’s clear that he is on the top end of creating offence but he does it with his shot and his scoring rather than his playmaking. His primary assists are actually below average, which is interesting considering who he plays with, but with the puck on his stick, he will shoot it.
He’s on the top end of players who shoot in this year’s draft class. That’s something that you can also see from his stat line where he often has more goals than assists at various levels.
Make no mistake, Leonard isn’t just a shooter, he just creates his offence that way. He also generates his own shooting opportunities not only with his zone entries, and his off-board play, but his ability to drive to the net and get into more dangerous areas. Don’t fall into the trap of Leonard not being able to pass. He does have vision and playmaking abilities, but the strength of his game is when he gets into the dangerous areas himself.
One thing that helps him along the boards and in puck battles is his strength. Some people consider him one of the strongest prospects in the Draft, and he may be someone who lights up the timing screens at the NHL Combine in Buffalo. His brother is San Jose Shark John Leonard, and he works with NHL players in the summers. His father was an NBA Draft Pick.
He has all the tools to be a kind of power forward in the NHL despite not even being 6’0″. The expression about the size of the dog in a fight was seemingly made with Leonard in mind.
Preliminary Rankings
Dobber Prospects: #12
Elite Prospects: #7
FCHockey: #25
Hockey Prospect: #15
Hadi Kalakeche: #13
McKeen’s: #8
Bob McKenzie (TSN): #10
NHL Central Scouting: #5 (North American skaters)
Corey Pronman (The Athletic) #13
Scott Wheeler (The Athletic): #15
No matter whether it’s at centre or wing, Leonard projects to be an impact top-six player in the NHL. He has shown he can generate with top players, but he also has the ability to make his own opportunities and he had as much to do with the success of his line as the other two players.
Leonard is the type of player that will celebrate goals while flying into the end boards, or on the ice after sliding into the corner. He goes to the net with a kind of controlled aggression but with a side of reckless abandon. He’s not as manipulative as Smith as Perreault, or other players in the class, but he’s effective when he uses his own strengths.
As the final rankings start coming in, don’t be surprised if you see Leonard firmly in the top 10, and when the draft comes up in June, don’t be surprised to hear his name called earlier than perhaps many would have expected.
There are already reports that say the Montreal Canadiens are looking at him in a group of players for them at 5th overall, and there are surely other teams in that range that will take a long look at him as well.
Scott Matla
