Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Ryan Leonard acknowledges that Canadian fans don’t like him. As captain of the US team at the world juniors, he is an obvious target for boos from opposing fans, especially because he plays such a tough, boisterous game. So when the Americans soaked the Swiss in the quarterfinals, Leonard was more than happy to be seen as the bad guy by the Canadian supporters in the stands.
“You hear the boos and honestly, it made me smile,” he said. “It’s great to be hated.”
Leonard had an eventful game against the Swiss, taking two hits to the face (once with a high stick, once with a puck) and having several high-impact collisions with his opponents. He also scored two goals in the 7-2. For a kid who plays with a lot of passion, one of his best moves was something he didn’t do, according to his coach: retaliate when the game was already out of control.
“To me, the sequence in the third where he gets thrown to the ice and he just skates away, that’s growth for him; his discipline, his maturity,” David Carle said. “He’s an emotional guy and our team rallies around that, but it wasn’t the time or place to get involved. So it’s been fun to watch him as a coach, his growth and maturity. You’re seeing his game continue to flourish, but “You see that the person on the ice has more control and that’s good to see. “It bodes well for their future.”
Selected eighth overall by the Washington Capitals in 2023, the right winger has been a star for Boston College in his first season and a half with the Eagles and already has a gold medal from last year’s World Juniors, where he played in a strong line with Rangers pick Gabe Perreault and current San Jose rookie Will Smith. This year, potential first overall pick James Hagens replaced Smith at center for Leonard and Perreault both at Boston College and at the junior level. He’s already quite familiar with the impact Leonard can have on a team, even when he’s a target because of his own physicality.
“He’s a great player and everyone chases after him,” Hagens said. “He’s our leader, so you learn from him and how he fights everything. You see what he goes through and how he’s still ready to go on the next turn. So it helps you understand that you can never take a free turn and that You play for the guy next to you.”
On the contrary, Leonard is more than happy with his new BC line and what they have been able to do so far in terms of chemistry and production.
“My stick should always be on the ice ready for a pass from any of those guys,” he said. “We have a couple of plays that you know you’ll be ready for, whether it’s a backboard pass or knowing where people are in the back of your head without even looking. Those tendencies that come from playing together all year long, they’ve been very funny.”
As for his approach to captaining Team USA, Leonard has to be the same heart-on-his-sleeve player he always has been.
“They pick you captain for a reason and that’s because of who you were before, so you don’t need to change too much,” he said. “It has to be something natural.”
So far, that approach has paid plenty of dividends for Leonard in his blossoming career, and keep in mind, he’s just getting started.