Ryan Leonard started the 2024-25 season traversing the campus of Boston College and ended it on the ice at Capital One Arena in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The whirlwind year, which saw Leonard turn 20 years old in January, came to a close with the Capitals’ 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night.
Despite what some may think, Leonard cannot be sent down to the AHL for the rest of the Hershey Bears’ Calder Cup Playoffs run. College players at the end of their seasons are only eligible to play in the AHL playoffs if they sign an amateur try-out contract (ATO) and do not play in an NHL game.
Leonard signed his NHL entry-level deal with the Capitals on March 31 and made his NHL debut against the Boston Bruins a day later. The soonest he could play a game for the Bears would be at the start of next season if he doesn’t make the Caps out of training camp.
In 17 combined regular season and playoff games for the Caps, Leonard notched two points (1g, 1a). The 2023 first-round pick scored his first NHL goal into an empty net on the same night that Alex Ovechkin tied Wayne Gretzky for the all-time goals record. He also fired 29 shots on goal, received 13 penalty minutes, and threw 29 hits.
Leonard joined the Capitals after the BC Eagles were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in a regional final matchup with the defending champion Denver Pioneers. In his sophomore season with the team, he led the entire NCAA in goals (30) and game-winning goals (9), and also led Boston College in points (49), points-per-game (1.32), plus/minus (+30), and shots on goal (191).
The Massachusetts native was also captain of Team USA in a gold-medal-winning effort at the 2025 World Juniors. Leonard was named MVP of the tournament after recording 10 points (5g, 5a) in seven games.
While Leonard can not join up with the Bears in the AHL, defenseman Ethan Bear and goaltenders Clay Stevenson and Mitchell Gibson can. All three were on Hershey’s roster at the deadline, maintaining their eligibility for the playoffs. Bear, an AHL All-Star, finished as Hershey’s leading scorer with 46 points (10g, 36a) in 62 games.
On the flip side, winger Ethen Frank cannot join them as he was up in DC at the deadline. When Frank was recalled from the Bears by the Capitals on January 10, he was Hershey’s leading goal scorer with 20 goals in 35 games. His lead stood until late in the year when Ivan Miroshnichenko passed him and finished with 23 goals in 53 games.
Last week, the Bears eliminated the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in Game 5 of the Atlantic Division Semifinals. Their Atlantic Division Finals series against the Charlotte Checkers is set to begin on Friday night.
