Ryan Leonard is heading into what should be his first full season in the NHL. And just like his nine-game stint at the end of last season, the rookie forward is living with veteran centerman Pierre-Luc Dubois.
“For right now,” Leonard clarified at the NHL/NHLPA Rookie Showcase.
“Yeah, (Ryan’s) still living with me,” Dubois confirmed on Thursday, the Capitals’ first day of training camp. “He’s looking for a place. Told me he found a place for next year, so it’s great. But still working on this year. It’s fun to have him around. We talked a little bit during the summer, and then to have him back, it was like he never left, so it was really fun.”
Leonard explained that his accommodations for the 2025-26 season are dependent on one thing, which is both in and out of his control.
“I’ve got to make the team first, then we’ll go from there,” Leonard observed.
As Dubois, 27, enters the grind of his ninth NHL season, the 20-year-old Leonard returns to Washington, DC, months removed from completing his sophomore year at Boston College and signing his first professional hockey contract. The two teammates are not only at different points of their personal and professional lives, but also seemingly opposite players on the ice: Dubois is more quiet and consistent while Leonard plays a more flashy and sandpaper-y game.
One could argue, however, that those differences are what allows the friends to get something out of the experience. Like for Ryan: maturity.
“He’s a little bit more involved than he was last year,” Dubois said when asked if he has a chore chart for Leonard. “He’s a little more comfortable now. I had to give him a warning the other day for dishes in the sink, but apart from that, he’s helpful.”
Dubois has also gotten an assist around the house — though it’s up for debate how much of an impact it’s actually had.
“[He’s] bringing trash out, helping us from time to time,” Dubois said. “He’s been marinating meat, like putting salt on meat. He says it’s cooking, so we’ll give him that. But he’s learning.”
Leonard was equally as appreciative of Dubois and sang his praises in April for even making his house an option in the first place.
“I was extremely lucky when he offered it,” Leonard said in April. “It’s just a situation you can’t really pass [up].”
Describing Dubois’s digs as better than a dorm room, Leonard gushed about having his own floor and a “good-sized bed,” which he clarified was “not a twin-sized bed.”
“He’s treated me with the most respect, taking me grocery shopping,” Leonard added. “Just really trying to make me feel at home. He doesn’t want me to force anything. He wants me to be comfortable. If I’m hungry or thirsty, just do whatever I need.”
The chemistry between the two was evident in a recent video posted by Monumental Sports Network. As Alexa Landestoy and Tarik El-Bashir spoke to Dubois, Leonard waited in the wings to do a one-on-one interview and was encouraged to join the chat with his housemate.
Once mic’d up, Leonard was asked about what advice Dubois gave him before the start of his first NHL training camp.
“Uhhh, I mean, yeah,” Leonard said, struggling to find an answer. “Just go out there, playing with him right now, so play to my best ability and hopefully I can still sleep at night.”
While the two players share the house, they do not carpool and drive in separate vehicles to MedStar Capitals Iceplex. El-Bashir also appeared to bring up a sore spot when asking Ryan about the air conditioning and it being too cold in his room.
“Well, yeah,” Leonard said, appearing embarrassed.
In the end though, like Alex Ovechkin with George McPhee at the beginning of his career, Leonard is grateful for the assist from Dubois as he continues to get adjusted to life in DC.
“Him and his wife now, Maddie, have been great to me, the three dogs, so I can’t complain,” Leonard said. “They’ve been awesome.”
