Ryan Leonard looks like he could be back in the Washington Capitals’ lineup sooner than expected.
The 20-year-old winger was a full participant in the team’s practice on Friday, shedding the no-contact jersey that he wore at Thursday’s morning skate. Leonard, who is still on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, also went through one-on-one battle drills with fellow rookie Bogdan Trineyev during the skate.
Leonard taking contact again so soon suggests he could be back in game action well before his announced projected recovery timeline of three to four weeks.
“Yeah, just another step in his progression to coming back,” head coach Spencer Carbery said Friday afternoon. “Moves into now where he’s able to get in and around other players, take a little bit of contact, so he’ll just continue to progress.”
Carbery declined to answer whether Leonard could play as soon as this weekend.
“I’m going to be non-committal to his timeline,” he said. “I haven’t talked to Serbs (head athletic trainer Jason Serbus) today. I’ll just leave it at that.”
Leonard was injured on December 5 by a hit from Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba, and he has missed the past five games for the Capitals. In those games, the Capitals are 2-2-1.
Two days after the injury, Leonard was spotted wearing a sling in the Capitals’ locker room during the team’s postgame celebration. Leonard has recorded 18 points (7g, 11a) in 29 games this season, which still ranks fourth among all NHL rookies.
The Capitals play the Detroit Red Wings in a home-and-home back-to-back over the next two days. They start on home ice at Capital One Arena on Saturday afternoon, then travel to Detroit for another matinee matchup on Sunday.
If Leonard is healthy enough to play, he could go up against his older brother, John Leonard, who the Red Wings recalled from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins earlier this week. He had an assist on Detroit’s lone goal against the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday night.
