F Ryan Leonard - Boston College, NCAA (2023, 8th, WSH)

[William H Bonney]

Hat trick now. Going off against his hometown team.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

7 goals in his last 4 games.

Not bad.

 

[McEsenpi]

He is good

 

[BKarchitect]

Still my favorite pro prospect out of all the BC stars and maybe out of any prospect in college outside Celebrini.

Pro tools, pro style. People thinking his upside is Brendan Morrow are underrating his upside. I feel like lots of people are sorting the BC point scoring and seeing him 4th or 5th and assuming he’s not as exciting in terms of projection when I think the exact opposite is true.

Hes got star potential at the highest level.

 

[Beesfan]

Third time watching BC live today. Leonard is a stud. As far as playing style and talent, he reminds me of Bobby Ryan. Probably faster and more of a shooter, though not quite as strong. He is dynamic in the offensive zone. I love the way he hangs on to pucks and his patience. Plays with a ton of swagger.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Third time watching BC live today. Leonard is a stud. As far as playing style and talent, he reminds me of Bobby Ryan. Probably faster and more of a shooter, though not quite as strong. He is dynamic in the offensive zone. I love the way he hangs on to pucks and his patience. Plays with a ton of swagger.

But can he spell intense?

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Still my favorite pro prospect out of all the BC stars and maybe out of any prospect in college outside Celebrini.

Pro tools, pro style. People thinking his upside is Brendan Morrow are underrating his upside. I feel like lots of people are sorting the BC point scoring and seeing him 4th or 5th and assuming he’s not as exciting in terms of projection when I think the exact opposite is true.

Hes got star potential at the highest level.

Yeah this is pretty much where I fall.

B+ or better tools across the board and his vision is better than it gets credit for. It's not as dynamic as his line mates but it's good, bordering on very good.

His off the puck habits in the OZ are elite.

 

[HTFN]

Yeah this is pretty much where I fall.

B+ or better tools across the board and his vision is better than it gets credit for. It's not as dynamic as his line mates but it's good, bordering on very good.

His off the puck habits in the OZ are elite.

I'm a Caps fan but we're fairly tentative in our own prospects thread. I once pitched a Landeskog upside and got the same tentative response because we're not ready to hope that there are actual bridge prospects on the horizon.

Care to build this out a little so I can get a vibe from someone who is watching for it?

 

[TLEH]

I've seen him a lot but its sort of hard to peg his impact at the NHL level. His compete, forecheck, off puck game and details are all so good. He's a good passer and has a good shot. He drives the middle and gets to the net. All huge positives. Like a much better Ryan Hartman (21-22).

He also really isn't that big so I wonder how much of that will affect what he becomes. Its going to be harder to play his game at 5'11 180 in the NHL.

 

[MichaelFarrell]

I've seen him a lot but its sort of hard to peg his impact at the NHL level. His compete, forecheck, off puck game and details are all so good. He's a good passer and has a good shot. He drives the middle and gets to the net. All huge positives. Like a much better Ryan Hartman (21-22).

He also really isn't that big so I wonder how much of that will affect what he becomes. Its going to be harder to play his game at 5'11 180 in the NHL.

He is a phenomenal athlete. He may not be the biggest guy but he has real power and strength. He is still a teenager and will continue to gain muscle as well.

I think he’ll definitely get rocked his first year as a pro don’t get me wrong. Even Slafkovsky at 6’3” 238 gets rocked.

I wonder if Leonard is a center or a winger at the pro level.

 

[TLEH]

He is a phenomenal athlete. He may not be the biggest guy but he has real power and strength. He is still a teenager and will continue to gain muscle as well.

I think he’ll definitely get rocked his first year as a pro don’t get me wrong. Even Slafkovsky at 6’3” 238 gets rocked.

I wonder if Leonard is a center or a winger at the pro level.

Yeah no doubt. Old man strength is real. I don't think he's going to have to become some soft dipsy doodle guy. I just think its just a question I have. I have zero doubts about his game. He's going to be a winning NHL player, I'm just not sure in what capacity yet. I don't see why he couldn't be a center but with how good he is in the corners and forechecking it might make more sense to have him play winger but take faceoffs.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

I'm a Caps fan but we're fairly tentative in our own prospects thread. I once pitched a Landeskog upside and got the same tentative response because we're not ready to hope that there are actual bridge prospects on the horizon.

Care to build this out a little so I can get a vibe from someone who is watching for it?

Stepping away from the tools, I love how multi dimensional his offensive game is. He's a guy who is just as dangerous on the rush as he is at creating off of the walls which makes him a bit of a unicorn. He carries the transition load for his line. Now he isn't a guy who is going to take it coast to coast and be a terror through the NZ like McDavid, MacK or Barzal but he can carry the puck up ice and get it into the OZ with control.

When you hear about people creating space for their teammates its usually with them mucking it up and putting a body on someone and he's certainly got that, but he is just so instinctual at how he's routing himself through the OZ with out the puck on his stick and occupying a lane which allows a teammate to have a little bit of extra space to operate from an opposition defender with out even making contact with anyone. He's even better at getting his stick available when he's crashing the net, he almost never gets tied up.

And of course, his shot is very good.

All in all you have a guy who is -

- Good at carrying the puck through the NZ and entering the OZ with control, is more than capable of chipping, chasing and retrieving when necessary.

- Can create off the rush or off of the cycle.

- Creates space in a multidue of ways, both for himself and his teammates

- Scores from in tight and from a distance. The only thing I haven't seen from him is hunting for deflections/tips and I think thats more of a product of how his line plays. Even if this isn't a skill that he has, its one that he profiles pretty well to develop.

He reminds me of Filip Forsberg but with that edge. So a Foresberg/Landeskog hybrid if you will.

Great prospect who will be a great pro. I hate that the Caps have him.

 

[Cush]

 

[TLEH]

That pass reception and kick to his stick was unreal

 

[Lou Sassole]

He made a great physical play and then pass to set up Gauthier for another shorthanded goal. He's playing like a beast Tonight.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Beast.

 

[Cush]

 

[Cush]

#'s 24 and 25 tonight

 

[William H Bonney]

Mercy that move and pass to set up Smith for the hat trick. Electric.

 

[coooldude]

That was an absolutely sick move. Perreault and Smith are getting the points today but Leonard is also having himself a very solid all around game. Almost gave Smith the hatty with his power move to the net a few minutes before.

 

[MichaelFarrell]

Mercy that move and pass to set up Smith for the hat trick. Electric.

Ryan Leonard has so much individual skill that goes unappreciated because the physicality in his game gets so much focus. It’s not every game necessarily, but he will sometimes just make an absolutely incredible individual play. Elite skill. Complete player.

 

[William H Bonney]

That was an absolutely sick move. Perreault and Smith are getting the points today but Leonard is also having himself a very solid all around game. Almost gave Smith the hatty with his power move to the net a few minutes before.

Yeah, that power move to the net is so indicative of how Leonard plays the game. Vintage Leonard.

 

[Cush]

 

[sigx15]

Mercy that move and pass to set up Smith for the hat trick. Electric.

Here's the replay for anyone who hasn't seen it. I thought he's been a bit off tonight but this was gross

 

[Cush]