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

[TLEH]

Exactly. Upside being potential Morrow/Brown. Highend potential upside, Landeskog/Iginla. Notice something in common with all four guys besides being very hard to play against... they all wore a C. Obviously his downside is being a grinder or potentially an outright bust. But he is very likely to play, and imo likely to ascend towards the higher end of his upside. I love this type of player.

I feel like his floor is pretty high though too. His compete is so high with those tools that it’s hard to imagine a bust. That’s why I said a more talented Coyle just because I think Coyle never really put it together with his tools.

Maybe Leonard can in which I could see the other high end comps.

 

[majormajor]

Exactly. Upside being potential Morrow/Brown. Highend potential upside, Landeskog/Iginla. Notice something in common with all four guys besides being very hard to play against... they all wore a C. Obviously his downside is being a grinder or potentially an outright bust. But he is very likely to play, and imo likely to ascend towards the higher end of his upside. I love this type of player.

The skating, strength, shot, it's all high end in terms of tools. He might not reach his upside but outright bust would be very surprising for a player with those tools.

 

[TryamkinPleaseReturn]

The skating, strength, shot, it's all high end in terms of tools. He might not reach his upside but outright bust would be very surprising for a player with those tools.

Agreed with you both completely, his likely floor is very high. My previous comment was just dumbly stating the obvious: that any prospect in the world can bust. But to me, he is about as safe of a prospect as you can get, with a likely floor much higher than most prospects, and absolutely 1st line upside.

This draft happened to have 4 first overall talents, 3 of which go 1st overall any other year, and the fourth who was 1st overall caliber imo. A crazy draft at the top-end. After that madness, Leonard was my #2 ranked player in the draft.

 

[majormajor]

Agreed with you both completely, his likely floor is very high. My previous comment was just dumbly stating the obvious: that any prospect in the world can bust. But to me, he is about as safe of a prospect as you can get, with a likely floor much higher than most prospects, and absolutely 1st line upside.

This draft happened to have 4 first overall talents, 3 of which go 1st overall any other year, and the fourth who was 1st overall caliber imo. A crazy draft at the top-end. After that madness, Leonard was my #2 ranked player in the draft.

Same for me. #6.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Agreed with you both completely, his likely floor is very high. My previous comment was just dumbly stating the obvious: that any prospect in the world can bust. But to me, he is about as safe of a prospect as you can get, with a likely floor much higher than most prospects, and absolutely 1st line upside.

This draft happened to have 4 first overall talents, 3 of which go 1st overall any other year, and the fourth who was 1st overall caliber imo. A crazy draft at the top-end. After that madness, Leonard was my #2 ranked player in the draft.

You had Leonard ahead of Michkov?

 

[TryamkinPleaseReturn]

You had Leonard ahead of Michkov?

No.

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

Another one for Leonard. Points in eight straight games. The freshman line is rolling for BC.

 

[Cush]

 

[Random Comment]

Scoring as advertised. Bright future for him in the NHL.

 

[coooldude]

Today's goals weren't the freshman line. First Leonard goal was right after a PK I believe (or a PP), but lines were mixed up, Smith just got on the ice when the shot hit leonard and bounced in. Credit for being in the right place...

Second goal was a solid rebound finish on a 2-on-1 shot-pass of the goalie's pads, but again I the lines were mixed up I think from the PK again. Today the freshmen all looked dangerous but were mostly held in check except Leonard put his chance away and Smith and Perrault didn't.

 

[Cush]

 

[Vilica]

Smith and Perreault get all the discussions on the board, while Leonard just keeps doing his job, given the last post here was December 1st. Now he has points in all 10 games since returning from World Juniors, going 6+12=18 points, while being +15. Will Smith over the same period is 8+10=18, while Gabe Perreault is 8+12=20. [Smith is +11, Perreault is +12, Leonard has 36 shots, Smith 31, Perreault 26.] BC has gone 8-2 in those games, outscoring their opponents 50-21.

At this point it feels like BC's Frozen Four result is going to drive their year-end decisions. If they win a national championship, I think they all could turn pro. If they lose it, I think Smith, Perreault, and Leonard all could return.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Smith and Perreault get all the discussions on the board, while Leonard just keeps doing his job, given the last post here was December 1st. Now he has points in all 10 games since returning from World Juniors, going 6+12=18 points, while being +15. Will Smith over the same period is 8+10=18, while Gabe Perreault is 8+12=20. [Smith is +11, Perreault is +12, Leonard has 36 shots, Smith 31, Perreault 26.] BC has gone 8-2 in those games, outscoring their opponents 50-21.

At this point it feels like BC's Frozen Four result is going to drive their year-end decisions. If they win a national championship, I think they all could turn pro. If they lose it, I think Smith, Perreault, and Leonard all could return.

I think hes been the best player on that line all year despite the overall gap in production.

I don't have a single bad thing to say about him other than hes taken more than a few massive licks this year. Hes about that life and it comes with the territory, but he's gotta be more aware that he's going to be a target when he plays how he does.

IMO Leonard should go pro and is the only one of the 3 who should do so.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

I think hes been the best player on that line all year despite the overall gap in production.

I don't have a single bad thing to say about him other than hes taken more than a few massive licks this year. Hes about that life and it comes with the territory, but he's gotta be more aware that he's going to be a target when he plays how he does.

IMO Leonard should go pro and is the only one of the 3 who should do so.

I’ve brought this up a few times in different threads, like you said he gets blown up a lot. If he goes to the NHL without getting his awareness up he is going to have a very short career.

 

[LilLeeroy]

I think hes been the best player on that line all year despite the overall gap in production.

I don't have a single bad thing to say about him other than hes taken more than a few massive licks this year. Hes about that life and it comes with the territory, but he's gotta be more aware that he's going to be a target when he plays how he does.

IMO Leonard should go pro and is the only one of the 3 who should do so.

After today only 5 points behind Smith with the Perreault/Leonard connection starting to seriously heat up. Think he's able to catch him before the end of the season?

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

After today only 5 points behind Smith with the Perreault/Leonard connection starting to seriously heat up. Think he's able to catch him before the end of the season?

I wouldn't bet on it but it doesn't really matter. He does a ton of things that really drive the success of that trio whether hes putting up points or not. I'm glad that hes come out of the WJC being rewarded for his efforts though.

 

[GAGLine]

After today only 5 points behind Smith with the Perreault/Leonard connection starting to seriously heat up. Think he's able to catch him before the end of the season?

The point totals are playing out the same way they did last year. Leonard doesn't get the assists like the other two do, for whatever reason. I think Smith or Perreault are more likely to carry the puck into the zone for that line, so maybe Leonard is missing out on some assists when they score off the rush. Or it could be a positioning thing when they are set up in the zone, with Leonard cycling low. If the puck stays out high and they score, Leonard doesn't get an assist. It's an interesting thing to study, but in the end, it doesn't really matter. He's as productive as he needs to be.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

The point totals are playing out the same way they did last year. Leonard doesn't get the assists like the other two do, for whatever reason. I think Smith or Perreault are more likely to carry the puck into the zone for that line, so maybe Leonard is missing out on some assists when they score off the rush. Or it could be a positioning thing when they are set up in the zone, with Leonard cycling low. If the puck stays out high and they score, Leonard doesn't get an assist. It's an interesting thing to study, but in the end, it doesn't really matter. He's as productive as he needs to be.

It's PP driven. The other 2 have had a decent amount of PP production where Leonard hasn't been as productive and that makes sense, he doesn't touch the puck as much as they do on the PP. Leonard actually leads the trio at ES scoring (28 points to Perreault's 25 and Smith's 22.) He's a point per game+ at even strength.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

The point totals are playing out the same way they did last year. Leonard doesn't get the assists like the other two do, for whatever reason. I think Smith or Perreault are more likely to carry the puck into the zone for that line, so maybe Leonard is missing out on some assists when they score off the rush. Or it could be a positioning thing when they are set up in the zone, with Leonard cycling low. If the puck stays out high and they score, Leonard doesn't get an assist. It's an interesting thing to study, but in the end, it doesn't really matter. He's as productive as he needs to be.

The reason is that he doesn’t pass the puck anywhere near as well as either of them. Not to say he isn’t good or isn’t a lot better than them at certain parts of hockey, but his playmaking leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[Kuz]

The reason is that he doesn’t pass the puck anywhere near as well as either of them. Not to say he isn’t good or isn’t a lot better than them at certain parts of hockey, but his playmaking leaves a lot to be desired.

His passing is very good, but as mentioned its about the PP setup. I guess you havent watched them a lot he is setting up a lot with his passing.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

His passing is very good, but as mentioned its about the PP setup. I guess you havent watched them a lot he is setting up a lot with his passing.

I have watched him a lot. I think the lack of assists over the years is a byproduct of the fact that he's not a true playmaker. He's a smart player, so he's learned how to work well with two guys that pass the puck at an elite level. I think he's also gotten better with his passing over the last 18 months. It was really bad at one point.

I would expect his assist totals to be considerably lower than those other two once they go their separate ways. That's not an insult. It's more that he's not naturally a playmaker. He's the best shooter of the three, skates the best of the three, and has power elements they don't have.

 

[MichaelFarrell]

I have watched him a lot. I think the lack of assists over the years is a byproduct of the fact that he's not a true playmaker. He's a smart player, so he's learned how to work well with two guys that pass the puck at an elite level. I think he's also gotten better with his passing over the last 18 months. It was really bad at one point.

I would expect his assist totals to be considerably lower than those other two once they go their separate ways. That's not an insult. It's more that he's not naturally a playmaker. He's the best shooter of the three, skates the best of the three, and has power elements they don't have.

I think that’s a good take. That’s been my only issue with Leonard. He tends to go for the individual play and doesn’t always utilize his teammates to the best of his ability.

Not a knock on him by any means. If he was also an elite playmaker he would be a near perfect hockey player.

 

[Cush]

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Monster game from Leonard tonight.

Certainly has no problem rising to the occasion.

 

[William H Bonney]

An early goal today already. He's cooking.