From Hobey Baker to heavy hits: Ryan Leonard shows what he's made of with the Washington Capitals
Photo credit: Imagn Images
It was a night to forget for the Washington Capitals on the scoreboard but a night to remember for rookie Ryan Leonard.
He showed heart, toughness and a lot of competition in a 7-0 blowout loss of the Washington Capitals to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
The young winger took a huge hit from Columbus forward Adam Fantilli early in the game and was briefly sent into concussion protocol.
But later, Ryan Leonard dropped the gloves for his first NHL fight against Sean Kuraly and proved that he's not afraid to stand up for himself.
Despite the lopsided score, Ryan Leonard impressed head coach Spencer Carbery.
«Yeah, just appreciated the fact that he was right there at the forefront competing and not backing down, involved, around the puck, had some good scoring chances,» Carbery said postgame.
«Obviously, the physicality part of it, so for a young player to play in that situation and not back down an inch says a lot about his character and who he is as a person even at his age and as a competitor coming into this league.»
«Obviously, the physicality part of it, so for a young player to play in that situation and not back down an inch says a lot about his character and who he is as a person even at his age and as a competitor coming into this league.»
Ryan Leonard aslo finished the game with 15:13 of ice time, one hit, four shots and seven penalty minutes.
His drive didn't go unnoticed by his teammates either and some of them had good comments on him.
«That's something that you can't teach,» Dowd said.
«I think right away from his first game, it was evident that he's not gonna shy away from the physicality of the NHL, which is great because, like I said, you can't teach that. You can teach a lot of things, but the ability to compete is something that guys either have or don't have, and I think Leno has continued to show that he definitely has that, which is great.»
«I think right away from his first game, it was evident that he's not gonna shy away from the physicality of the NHL, which is great because, like I said, you can't teach that. You can teach a lot of things, but the ability to compete is something that guys either have or don't have, and I think Leno has continued to show that he definitely has that, which is great.»
The former Boston College star had just flown into Columbus hours before puck drop after attending the Hobey Baker Award ceremony in St. Louis on Friday.
He missed winning the award but made it to Ohio on a last-minute Southwest flight with almost no minutes to spare.
Previously on Capitals Insider
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 12 | 37 ANSWERS From Hobey Baker to heavy hits: Ryan Leonard shows what he's made of with the Washington Capitals Do you think Ryan Leonard will be one of the elite players in the NHL someday? | ||
| Yes | 30 | 81.1 % |
| No | 7 | 18.9 % |
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