Capitals prospects Ryan Leonard and Ryan Chesley ended their run at 2024 World Juniors with a bang, defeating Sweden 6-2 in Gothenburg to take home gold for the United States. Leonard in particular made a splash in the gold-medal game, celebrating his third-period insurance goal by blowing a farewell kiss to the Swedish fans in attendance.
Speaking with Capitals media on Tuesday, Leonard said he was more than happy to play heel for opposing fans as Team USA beat the Swedes in their own barn.
“I think that’s always kind of just been me playing a little chip on my shoulder and there’s always going to be people that don’t appreciate the way you play on the other side,” he said. “But I think it’s all part of the game and every team’s going to have one of those guys and I’m lucky enough to be that guy.”
Ryan Leonard kisses Gothenburg goodnight pic.twitter.com/EnPrVUcaXD
— /Cam Robinson/ (@Hockey_Robinson) January 5, 2024
Leonard, the Caps’ eighth-overall pick in the 2023 draft and a freshman at Boston College, noted that he had not planned the celebration in advance but relished the opportunity to respond to the boisterous Swedish crowd that filled the Scandinavium.
“I just think the whole setting of them having probably 11,000 (fans), and most of the families that were able to go [for Team USA being] 200 max people,” he explained. “I think it was just the heat of the moment and we all were just dying to win the game. The whole game it was just all yellow, noise for them, and it was good to give it back to them.”
Thousands of miles from home, American fans were vastly outnumbered through the tournament. Leonard took the hostile crowds as a challenge, naming the tournament atmosphere as a key lesson he could take with him.
“I think over every single game we had, we weren’t the technically home team or had the most fans there for us, so I think just playing in an away rink for the majority of the tournament and just having the opponent’s fans on the other side of you cheering against you, it will help any team, any college hockey team, with student sections and all their chants and all that. It will just help our team grow — and just the overall experience of mental toughness.”
Leonard rose to that challenge, scoring six points (3g, 3a) in seven games while playing alongside USNTDP and Boston College linemates Will Smith and Gabe Perreault. Back in Washington, Capitals center Dylan Strome took notice of both Leonard’s offensive prowess and his now-iconic celebration, highlighting the prospect’s performance in the tournament.
“He obviously has that clutch gene in him, scoring a pretty big goal there in that game to kind of seal it and put it away,” Strome said Tuesday. “And a nice celebration too. It was good to see.”
Meanwhile, Chesley, a second-round pick of the Capitals in 2022 and a sophomore at the University of Minnesota, took on a leadership role in Gothenburg. After winning bronze with Team USA in 2023, he served as the squad’s alternate captain while playing on the top pairing opposite Canadiens prospect Lane Hudson, registering four points (1g, 3a).
Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said Tuesday that the team’s coaching staff kept a close eye on the pair’s progress in the tournament.
“We were watching frequently. We had some of the staff pulling for different areas of the world,” he said with a laugh. “But it was good, it was good to watch. We followed it pretty closely. And especially to have two prospects in our organization, not just playing, but being with Team USA and progressing through the tournament and doing so well.
“So it was great to watch and happy for both guys, texted them both. You could see just on the celebrations and on their faces and watching them post-gold medal was pretty neat to see for them. An incredible accomplishment that they’ll have for the rest of their lives to reflect back on and they should be really proud of that. That’s no joke winning that tournament.”
Carbery was not the only one in Washington to congratulate the duo after the win, with multiple members of the Capitals organization sending their well-wishes.
“Had a ton of staff reach out,” Chesley said. “Saw a bunch of stuff on social media, so it’s been great receiving all that love and support. It’s been great to hear from all the staff and hear their thoughts and talk to them about it.”
Leonard noted that not only had he received congratulations from players, but that he had even heard from several non-American prospects in the organization despite their opposing national loyalties.
“All the staff has been really welcoming and congratulating all of us. I got a text from a couple of players and then a couple of other prospects that aren’t American, so it was nice for them to even just reach out. It’s been awesome.
“All the Capitals media, just everyone has been really welcoming and honestly proud. I’m really excited.”
The next time the pair share the ice may well be with the Capitals: Boston College and Minnesota will not face each other in the regular season this year and Chesley is set to age out before 2025 World Juniors. Though still a ways away, Chesley admitted they had already discussed their potential shared future in Washington.
“I think we’ve talked about it a little bit,” he said. “Obviously we’re trying to focus on the right now and not too much in the future, but we know it will be really cool to play together sometime in the future.”
For now, however, both players preferred to focus on the rest of their time in the NCAA. Though still pushing towards the ultimate goal of the NHL, Leonard expressed little desire to race through the rest of his time in Chestnut Hill.
“It’s always in the back of your head when you’re going to turn pro and when you’re going to take that next step, but honestly right now I’m worried about Providence Friday night, so that’s kind of the last of my worries,” he said. “The NHL is always going to be there, but I think college is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so you never want to rush out of there and just want to soak it all in and see what you can make happen here.”
He later added, “College, I’ve always said this, it’s always going to be there. The NHL is also always going to be there but college, you can age out so fast and you never really want to make the transition too fast because there’s no going back. You never want to dig yourself into a hole.”
Screenshot via Washington Capitals/Zoom
