Leonard's skill, competitiveness stand out ahead of 2023 NHL Draft

The 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held June 28-29 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The first round will be June 28 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS) and rounds 2-7 are June 29 (11 a.m. ET; NHLN, SN, TVAS). NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects, podcasts and other features. Today, a look at right wing Ryan Leonard of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Under-18 team. NHL.com's full draft coverage can be found here.

Ryan Leonard seems ready-made for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The right wing (6-foot, 192 pounds), No. 5 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters presented by BioSteel, combines skill, power and competitiveness as a member of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Under-18 team.

"He plays playoff hockey every single day," NTDP U-18 coach Dan Muse said. "He doesn't know anything else. That's just in his DNA. They're going to get a pretty special player there, whoever drafts him."

Just look at the end of the 2023 IIHF World Under-18 Championship in Basel, Switzerland, on April 30.

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Leonard blocked a shot, came back to the bench and shook off the pain. Then he went right back out and scored the golden goal, giving the United States a 3-2 overtime win against Sweden.

On the rush, he cut from the left wing to the middle and fired a quick wrist shot from the high slot. After he saw the puck go in, he flung off his gloves, tore off his helmet, threw up his hands and got mobbed by his teammates.

"That's a pretty good summary there of the type of player and person he is," Muse said.

Leonard finished the tournament with 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in seven games. He had 94 points (51 goals, 43 assists) in 57 games for the NTDP this season, tying for ninth-most goals in one season at the program.

"His speed, shot and skill all combined, it's a pretty lethal combo," said Gabriel Perreault, Leonard's NTDP linemate and No. 10 in Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters. "He works so hard out there, and he just creates so much space out there for us."

Leonard ranks seventh in NTDP history with 77 goals in his career.

"He can score from distance," Muse said. "He scores a lot of goals going to the net. He scores with time and space; he scores without time and space. There's versatility there."

Perhaps most telling are the goals he scores in the hard areas of the ice.

"That's where a lot of goals are scored at the next level," said Muse, who was an assistant with the Nashville Predators from 2017-20. "So many goals are scored right around the net. He gets there, he gets position there, and he's got the ability to finish there."

The 18-year-old is the brother of

John Leonard

, a 24-year-old forward who was selected by the San Jose Sharks in the sixth round (No. 182) of the 2018 draft and has played 64 NHL games -- 58 for the Sharks from 2020-22 and six for the Predators this season.

Maybe some of Leonard's power and competitiveness came from being a little brother battling with his big brother and his buddies.

"Being the youngest guy, you definitely get bullied around and pushed a little," Leonard said. "But in the end, it makes you better, and it pays off in the long run, for sure."

Muse sees it paying off now.

"He's a winner of a player," Muse said. "I mean, I can't stress the competitiveness enough. Like, he is ultra-competitive. It's every single day, every practice.

"Anything that he does, it doesn't matter -- on the ice, off the ice. If you're playing a board game, it doesn't matter. He is extremely, extremely competitive, and that's a big part of what drives his game, what drives him as a person."

Asked for an example or anecdote, Muse laughed.

"It happens every day," he said. "You see it every day playing in the small-area games. Anything that you can keep score in, he's all in. He hates to lose; he loves to win. It's every single day."

Leonard said he followed the Boston Bruins growing up near Springfield, Massachusetts. His favorite player was center Patrice Bergeron.

"You ask people who don't even watch hockey, they know the name, because he's a Boston legend," Leonard said.

But Leonard said he patterned himself after forwards like Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators, Alex Tuch of the Buffalo Sabres and Zach Hyman of the Edmonton Oilers.

He is a power forward, and a well-rounded one.

"We knew him as a highly skilled player all the time, but he added a 200-foot element to his game," NHL Central Scouting director David Gregory said. "He has competitiveness and grittiness, and is willing to be the guy that stirs the pot if that's what his team needs and shows leadership that way. He can read the game very well and is built like a truck. He can handle any kind of physical play, and that's made him a more complete player."

NHL.com staff writer Mike G. Morreale contributed to this report

Photos: Rena Laverty, NTDP

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