ARLINGTON, V.A. — Ryan Leonard's not used to going a long time without scoring a goal.
It was all the Washington Capitals rookie did at Boston College: make highlight-reel plays, take advantage of open space, hit hard and find twine.
But the NHL has been something of a rude awakening, with Leonard being thrust onto the scene at the end of last year while being unable to replicate that production.
"It's a lot different than college, for sure," Leonard said of the transition. "Defensemen are a lot bigger and stronger, so it's tougher to get the puck from them. I'm big, but I'm not as big as a normal power forward like Tom (Wilson)... it's a learning curve."
Only now, months later, is Leonard getting a chance to finally settle in and learn the systems with his first training camp, and Sunday afternoon in Newark marked a major turning point for him as he pulled off a highlight-reel goal and added another tally in the shootout en route to a 3-2 win over the New Jersey Devils.
"It's huge. Anytime you see the puck go in the back of the net, it's a huge confidence boost, especially beating an NHL goalie," Leonard said. "It helped me out a lot. I knew it was going to go in at some point."
While it was undoubtedly a pivotal game for Leonard, it's not what coach Spencer Carbery is measuring his success on early in camp. In fact, it's the opposite; he's measuring that response to failure.
“For a young player that’s starting in the NHL, and I’ve talked to him a little bit about this, it’s hard. He’s going to want (that breakout) to happen right now. He wants it to happen right now," Carbery said. "That’s natural for any player but especially a young player that’s been very, very successful and has a ton of potential. If you’re a young player, you’re going to take your lumps. It’s just how it works."
That being the case, Carbery's been working with Leonard on his game and confidence so far in camp, and one of the lessons he's been trying to drive home is that a "good game" isn't determined by the amount of points you get; it's defined by everything you do at both ends of the ice.
"He wants to produce like Macklin Celebrini... all these guys, whether they're a power forward like Tom Wilson or they're a smooth, skilled skater, they want to produce, they want to score, they want to help the team win production-wise," Carbery added last week. "That's where I'm working with him on trying not to measure his game by goals and assets or by the box score solely."
Leonard's taking that advice in stride and trying to focus on the little details rather than just the production.
"Obviously, you want to produce, and like I said coming into this year, I want to produce and do a lot more for this time than I did last year, but that'll come with time," Leonard said. "I think I've been doing a better job of just getting scoring chances and being better defensively and all around, it was just only a matter of time before it started going in and hopefully it keeps spiraling."
The Capitals hope so, too, as they look to continue helping him form into a rising power forward — and that's where failure comes into play again.
“It’s a challenging part for young players because you’re usually physically over-matched and along with that comes failure. What I mean by that is you’re probably going to lose some of those 1-on-1 situations, but you have to be willing to go there and play on the inside. He has to," Carbery said. "Even though he’s probably going to get overpowered from time to time, that’s okay, as long as he’s going to get to the right spots and trying to work to get there and he’ll develop and grow and mature and get stronger. As long as he’s doing the right things, whether he’s successful at it or he fails, as long as he’s on the right path or going to the right spots on the inside.”
Alex Ovechkin Cleared For Contact, Getting Closer For Capitals; Group A Lines
ARLINGTON, V.A. — Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is back.
Washington has three more preseason games left on the schedule and some key roster decisions to make with several forwards standing out so far in camp. Leonard is just as in the thick of that competition as someone like Andrew Cristall, as he's waivers-exempt and could report straight to the AHL's Hershey Bears to further develop his game.
When it comes to making that decision, Carbery couldn't care less about the stats; as he stressed again, he cares about "his entire body of work."
"What does Ryan Leonard need to do? Well, to be successful in a 60-minute game, he’s got to be really good with the puck at determining when he can make a play and when it’s time to make a smart, intelligent, hard play," Carbery said, adding, "His puck play is huge. What else do I look at? His ability to get to the inside, play at the net front, win forecheck battles. That’s the offensive part. How’s he doing there? Is he winning pucks, is he getting to the inside? Also, his wall play, really important for wingers... There’s all these little things inside of his game that we look at and they’re habit things."
Of course, that's all easier said than done, and Leonard's likely to experience some bumps in the road. But ultimately, that's the point of it all.
"(It's) trying to learn from those (mistakes) and just continuing to understand this process and, 'I'm going to learn from this,' and I'm not going to be dejected or feel like, 'Gosh, why can't I score 30 goals in a year?'" Carbery said. "...All that little stuff takes hours and hours of work and ingraining good habits into your game."
So for now, Leonard's feeling "a lot better" about his game and remains confident in his ability as he folllows one of the oldest clichés in the game: Trusting the process.
"If you do all the right things, it's only a matter of time you're going to get rewarded," Leonard said. "Just keep playing the way I know I'm capable of playing and hopefully I'll do good things for myself and hopefully get he team wins," Leonard said.