The Washington Capitals are no strangers to warmups shenaniganery .
Whether it’s their elaborate pregame tunnel routines, physically lifting up teammates on the ice, or Tom Wilson and TJ Oshie’s butt-tapping ritual (which has continued even past Oshie’s retirement), the Caps have never let the seriousness of game preparation stop them from having fun.
Enter: Ryan Leonard, who has become one of the latest players to add an unexpected twist to warmups. Hopping on the ice.
Leonard has been spotted bouncing before multiple games. Sometimes, he speeds into an exuberant spinning hop, as he did before Sunday’s game against the Seattle Kraken.
@usefulheadphones leno why are you sticking your tongue out like that 😇 #ryanleonard #washingtoncapitals #washingtondc #hockey #nhl
Other times, like before the Capitals’ home opener last Wednesday, it’s closer to a two-legged leap.
Is he preparing for a second career in figure skating? Taking the Screaming Eagle jerseys a little too seriously and trying to fly? Jumping for joy after signing an eight-year extension this summer? We did some digging to try and find out.
Turns out, the hopping isn’t a new habit for Leonard, who told RMNB that he’s been doing it since his rookie season.
“Just something (that’s a) part of the routine,” he said.
When pressed further, Leonard, however, was not about to surrender the secrets of his highly classified hopping operation.
RMNB asks Ryan Leonard about his hop
The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
Q: How did it become part of your routine? When did you start?
Ryan Leonard: I don’t know, maybe last year.
Q: Maybe last spring?
Ryan Leonard: Yeah, last year.
Q: Was it your idea or somebody else’s?
Ryan Leonard: I don’t know, it just kind of happened.
Q: Just kind of happened?
Ryan Leonard: Yeah.
Q: Okay.
Ryan Leonard: That’s it.
While Leonard professed that there was nothing else to the story, his expression said, Oh, there is so much more to this story.
Further attempts at digging, however, proved fruitless.
Q: Should I ask anybody else?
Ryan Leonard: No, no one knows.
Q: Nobody knows? Okay.
Ryan Leonard: (Laughs) No one knows.
For now, Leonard’s aerial ambitions remain shrouded in mystery. And perhaps some mysteries are better left unsolved.
