Just four days after Ryan Leonard signed on with the Washington Capitals, he got the chance to celebrate as he scored his first-ever goal in the match against the Chicago Blackhawks. Probably not too much of a surprise considering he was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award and shares an interesting connection with Alex Ovechkin. While the latter debuted in 2005, Ryan, born in 2005, can now call himself a teammate! The former Boston College forward helped the Washington Capitals on the way to their 5-3 win over the Blackhawks with an empty netter, and what got even more monumental was that he gained some earnest congratulations from the NHL legend Wayne Gretzky in the locker room. But despite the stellar week he’s had, academics wait for no one.

The 20-year-old, while thumping it off with his exceptional performance on the ice, is still pursuing his degree in communications. Stating the news on X, Sammi Silber, Capitals beat reporter at The Hockey News, wrote, “Ryan Leonard is still pursing a degree right now. He had a quiz he had to turn in on Sunday on Long Island after the Alex Ovechkin record-breaking goal. The Capitals rookie hasn’t gotten the grade back yet.” Further adding the following, Sammi stated, “The degree is in communications. He wanted to stay in school and didn’t want to drop out.”

“It (offers) a variety you kind of go into. You don’t know how long you’re playing the sport for, so to have a degree you can look back on and enjoyed and worked hard towards it, it’s pretty important,” Leonard said. Being a hockey player and student can certainly pose a challenge, but Leonard’s forward thinking is certainly to be commended.

That’s some dedication to academics indeed! Now it remains to be seen if he can balance his time on the ice with his coursework outside. But after the celebrations surrounding Alex Ovechkin surpassing Gretzky’s record of 894 goals, who can blame Leonard if academia is the last thing on his mind? But while he juggles coursework and hockey, he’s been having a week in wonderland.

A whirlwind start to the NHL for Ryan Leonard

Ryan Leonard may be an NHLer, playing with Alex Ovechkin and possibly on the verge of winning a Stanley Cup this season, but that doesn’t mean his college friends are too far off. During his debut against the Chicago Blackhawks, his gang from Boston College were present at the Capital One Arena to cheer him on, all sporting their Eagles jerseys and standing by the glass.

According to Boston College coach Greg Brown, his players’ efforts to show up for Leonard (as well as Gabe Perreault, the Rangers’ newest debutant and BC alumnus) “speak volumes” to the kind of NHLers they now are. It also speaks to what a close and tight-knit culture Brown must have cultivated for his players to go above and beyond in showing their support.

But before his friends showed up, there was the dinner invite from Alex Ovechkin himself. You got that right. Just as the ink was drying after signing an ELC with the Capitals, a text message popped up on his phone that read, “Hey, it’s Ovi.”  And soon enough Leonard was enjoying a night on the town with Ovechkin and his friends.

And to think that very soon he’d be part of the lineup during the game where Ovechkin equalises Wayne Gretzky’s career goals record. Only to cap off the game with an empty netter and the first NHL goal of his. All in front of his closest friends. Oh, and Wayne Gretzky too. No big deal at all.

And if all of that wasn’t enough, adding to the whole surreal feeling is the fact that Gretzky himself had some words of praise for Leonard. Soon after the game, Gretzky headed towards the locker room, asking about Leonard, saying, “The kid who scored on the empty net, where is he?” and added, “Congratulations on your first goal.” Gretzky further encouraged him to score 895 more, surpassing Ovechkin. And then he had a front-row seat for Ovechkin’s record-breaking goal. Does it get any better for a rookie in the NHL?

It’s been quite the week for Ryan Leonard, to say the least. He’s moved from his university dorm to becoming Pierre Luc Dubois’ roommate, all the while being part of some amazing moments on the ice. Oh, and being complimented by Wayne Gretzky, of course. So there’s no wonder that when Leonard was asked about whether everything had sunk in yet, all he did was smile and say, “No.”