McLeod hopes backyard rivalry helps boost NHL Draft stock

It's too bad television cameras weren't rolling during those big hockey games between the McLeod brothers and Strome brothers in Mississauga, Ontario, not too long ago.
Mississauga center Ryan McLeod, 18, the youngest of the three siblings, including Matt and Michael, can remember the games on their backyard ice rink like yesterday against Ryan, Dylan and Matthew Strome.

"We had a huge rink and there were always a few fights but there was also good hockey out there," Ryan McLeod said. "We lived five minutes from the Stromes so we were up playing road and pond hockey with them all the time. We all went to the same middle school and high school, so it was a fun environment growing up."
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Ryan McLeod (6-foot-2, 203 pounds) is No. 16 on NHL Central Scouting's final list of North American skaters eligible for the 2018 NHL Draft in Dallas on June 22-23. He's the last of the six players from those hotly-contested backyard games to have an opportunity to be drafted.
"Ryan is more of a playmaker; his hockey instincts are a little bit better than Mike's," said Karl Stewart of NHL Central Scouting. "He's a true center who can synergize a line and can get the puck to his wingers."
Center Ryan Strome, who now plays for the Edmonton Oilers, was selected No. 5 by the New York Islanders in the 2011 draft, Center
Dylan Strome
was selected No. 3 by the Arizona Coyotes in 2015, and forward Matthew Strome was selected in the fourth round (No. 106) by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2017.
Center
Michael McLeod
was selected No. 12 by the New Jersey Devils in 2016. The only player not chosen in the NHL Draft was Matthew McLeod, who just completed his third season at Canisius College in Buffalo.
"We had a lot of heated rivalries out on that rink," Matthew Strome recalled. "I remember there were boards that went around the entire rink and there was snow over top of them so whenever the puck went into the corner, somebody got hit into the snow over the boards and that would always start a fight."

The matches not only got the teenagers out of the house, but provided a crash course to future expectations in a more competitive setting.
Michael McLeod was considered one of the fastest skaters available in the 2016 draft, but Ryan feels he would beat his brother in a race from end line to end line 60 percent of the time.
"I think we're different players, to be honest," Michael McLeod said. "I'm more straight forward, drive-the-puck-to-the-net. Ryan is one of the more creative and skilled guys in the Ontario Hockey League and one of its best skaters. He's got amazing hands and once he adds some grit to his game and gives it back to people, I think he's going to be a good player."
Ryan McLeod led Mississauga with 44 assists and was third with 70 points in 68 regular-season games. He took 165 shots and had two shorthanded goals. He also was 50 percent (740-for-1,364) on face-offs. He led the Steelheads with 10 points (six goals, four assists) in six OHL playoff games.

"He had a quiet 70 points," Mississauga coach James Richmond said. "He's had some games where I know he's been frustrated but he's such a competitor. He's already 6-foot-2 and 200-plus pounds, and he'll get stronger up top. He thinks the game well, competes hard and plays up and down the middle of the ice. He's very good in the defensive zone and really pushes the puck up the ice at high speed and that's the way the game is now."
Richmond, who for the second straight season had Ryan McLeod and Michael McLeod on his team, sees a difference.
"Ryan really thinks the game and is a very cerebral player, he's almost too analytical," Richmond said. "He really analyzes things on the ice and is fast. He possesses that strong skating stride and it's hard to knock him off the puck.
"Michael is quick off the get-go and he's also got great speed."
Michael McLeod had 44 points (16 goals, 28 assists) in 38 games this season, his fourth and final in the OHL. He got a late start after having successful arthroscopic surgery for a torn meniscus in his left knee sustained in a Devils preseason game against the New York Islanders on Sept. 25. The 20-year-old represented gold medal-winning Canada at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship, and had 207 points (76 goals, 131 assists) in 215 career OHL games.
"I'm excited for the draft," Ryan McLeod said. "Mike gave me tips on how to talk to people. Having gone through that whole day with him, I hope will make it a little easier for me come draft day."