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

[Garbageyuk]

Was Ovy on the ice when Leonard scored?

 

[Garbageyuk]

He should’ve been a Hab lol

 

[stephenball]

Was Ovy on the ice when Leonard scored?

No, Leonard was likely in the position Ovechkin normally would be in with an opponent empty net

 

[Garbageyuk]

No, Leonard was likely in the position Ovechkin normally would be in with an opponent empty net

Ah, I see.

 

[macbowes]

Ovechkin also literally told Carberry he didn't want to go on the ice for the empty net, presumably because he doesn't want the goal he sets the new record with to be an empty netter. He was back on the ice after CHI put Knight back in the net.

 

[Crow]

Delete

 

[SI90]

This is sick!! Imagine shaking hands with and being congratulated by Gretzky after your first goal. Amazing

 

[wickedwitch]

Carbery on young players and their first goals: "Usually it's not an empty netter, because they're not on the ice."

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

He was incredible last night. What a beauty.

 

[DesmondDekker]

Kid will make a name for himself in the playoffs.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Actually pretty bummed for him that the 1st goal is an empty net.

 

[Fantomas]

An injection of Ryan Leonard might really help the Caps in the playoffs. I hope he stays on the second line.

 

[Erika]

So what's up with this player ? Aside of his empty goal and his first game where he was alright, he looked terrible out there. Doesn't drive the play at all and looks weak on his skates.

1 point in 8 games... yikes...
Might need some AHL time.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

So what's up with this player ? Aside of his empty goal and his first game game where he was alright, he looked terrible out there. Doesn't drive the play at all and looks weak on his skates.

1 point in 8 games... yikes...

What were you expecting?

 

[Erika]

What were you expecting?

I was told he was in the same league as Carlsson, Fantilli, Michkov and Smith...

 

[Juxtaposer]

What were you expecting?

A lot of people were expecting him to step in and immediately be a contender-caliber third liner. Let's not pretend that expectation wasn't pretty universal.

 

[A1LeafNation]

I was expecting him to contribute a little more like Snuggerud, but hit more than him.

He looks overwhelmed on the ice right now.

 

[Jared Grayden]

What were you expecting?

Steven Ellis called him the most NHL ready prospect he's seen in years so I think a lot were expecting his style of play to translate smoothly. Reality is, he's a boy out there trying to play a power forward game against men. His physical tools are not capable of doing that at this level so he needs to adapt.

 

[GoCaps2004]

So what's up with this player ? Aside of his empty goal and his first game where he was alright, he looked terrible out there. Doesn't drive the play at all and looks weak on his skates.

1 point in 8 games... yikes...
Might need some AHL time.

He needs to get used to the pace and physicality of the NHL for sure, but Will Smith had zero points in his first eight games. Give him some time

 

[TomKosto]

What were you expecting?

Is he not the best prospect outside the NHL?

 

[Lou Sassole]

I was expecting him to contribute a little more like Snuggerud, but hit more than him.

He looks overwhelmed on the ice right now.

He's set Lars Eller up for multiple break aways and made plenty of plays, so I'm not sure what you've been watching. He's generating chances and playing physical. He's a young guy who's struggling with consistency, but definitely hasn't been overwhelmed. Plenty of room for improvement, but he joined the team at a really weird time where guys were focused on the record and had clinched everything already. So, we will see how it goes, wouldn't be surprised to see him sit to start the playoffs, to give him a break to catch up.

 

[Coldnwindy]

He joined a top 2 NHL team just around the time they clinched the East and started mailing it in. His advanced stats have been pretty good in his NHL games so far and he's drawing a ton of penalties while only averaging 20 seconds of PP time per game. The production will come along as the rest of the team picks up their play in the playoffs.

 

[A1LeafNation]

He's set Lars Eller up for multiple break aways and made plenty of plays, so I'm not sure what you've been watching. He's generating chances and playing physical. He's a young guy who's struggling with consistency, but definitely hasn't been overwhelmed. Plenty of room for improvement, but he joined the team at a really weird time where guys were focused on the record and had clinched everything already. So, we will see how it goes, wouldn't be surprised to see him sit to start the playoffs, to give him a break to catch up.

I'm comparing him to guys like Knies Snugg KJ Beniers when they all came in the last 10 games/playoffs. These guys came in hot and looked like top prospects. Leonard is definitely trying out there, but doesn't look like he has the same impact like the others.

 

[Coldnwindy]

I'm comparing him to guys like Knies Snugg KJ Beniers when they all came in the last 10 games/playoffs. These guys came in hot and looked like top prospects. Leonard is definitely trying out there, but doesn't look the same impact like the others.

This just sounds like the opinion of someone who watched the first Columbus game, saw the Fantili hit, and nothing else.

 

[wickedwitch]

Copying and pasting my post from the Caps forum:

Leonard's advanced stats remain very, very good. For example, in the 8 games he's played, he has one of the very best rates/60 on the team for both GA and xGA. He's also one of the best at SCF% and the very xGF%. He's mid pack for xGF. These numebrs are not just a result of his usage. He got sheltered the first three games, but has gotten average deployment with regards to zone starts and obviously the "worst" linemates since. Unfortunately, his on-ice shooting % is ~2%. (A non-zero part of this is on him, but even if he was the best shooter ever, it would still only bump him up to ~3-4%.)

I expected him to be a good 3rd liner after a game or two. But he's adapted defensively much, much quicker than I thought he would, which is obviously a good thing. It's hard to figure out entirely what's going on with his on-ice shooting %, but a pretty big portion of that is just luck (unless you think he's the very worst player in the NHL by a large margin).

TLDR: he's been good and unlucky.