ARLINGTON, V.A. — In the midst of celebrating with captain Alex Ovechkin and his new teammates as Ovechkin passed Wayne Gretzky for the all-time NHL goals record, Washington Capitals rookie Ryan Leonard booted up his laptop and logged onto Boston College's website.
The NHL could wait a second; he had a quiz to turn in. He's still waiting to get the grade back.
"It's big to me to get those credits, so I'm just doing the work online," Leonard told The Hockey News.
Making the jump to the pros this past week has been a busy process for the 20-year-old, who didn't want to drop out of school and still wants to pursue his degree. After speaking with his professors and advisors, he got to remain enrolled and transfer his work online.
"My teachers understood the situation," he mentioned casually.
The situation is far from casual: "Hey, I'm going to go play in the NHL with Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. Oh, and he's going to break Wayne Gretzky's record in my first week, too."
My Morning With Gr8ness: Alex Ovechkin Sits Down To Discuss Everything But The Record
ARLINGTON, V.A. — Sitting in his stall at MedStar Capitals Iceplex, still wearing his gear, untying his trademark yellow laces and proudly wearing his No. 8 on a gold chain around his neck, Alex Ovechkin glances over.
His major is communications.
''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.
On Monday, he woke up in his dorm room, packed his bags and went out to the bars with Ovechkin and friends. Then, he moved in with Pierre-Luc Dubois, scored his first NHL goal and got into the rhythm of practice and team meetings. All the while, he's been part of some epic celebrations.
It's been a wild week for the rookie. Has it all sunk in yet?
"No," Leonard said with a smile.