NHL: Washington Capitals at Minnesota Wild - Source: Imagn — Alex Ovechkin makes his feelings known about Washington Capitals' newest rookie signing (Image Credit: Imagn)

Alex Ovechkin makes his feelings known about Washington Capitals' newest rookie signing

Modified Apr 01, 2025 19:14 GMT

Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals will have a new face in the lineup on Tuesday night against the Boston Bruins.

On Monday afternoon, the team signed their eighth overall pick from the 2023 NHL draft, Ryan Leonard, to a three-year, $950,000 entry-level contract.

The 20-year-old was a dominant force at Boston College the past two seasons and played a huge part in Team USA winning back-to-back World Junior Hockey Championships (2024, 2025).

TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button had Leonard ranked No. 2 on his most recent top 50 NHL affiliated prospects list behind only Ivan Demidov of the Montreal Canadiens. The hype around Ryan Leonard is real, and even his teammates are taking notice.

Captain Alex Ovechkin was asked about his new teammate and shared his excitement about adding him to the group. The Washington Capitals shared the clip on X (formerly Twitter).

"Yeah, obviously, it's exciting moment for all of us," Ovechkin said. "You know, he’s a tremendous player, obviously, and you know, nine games left before the playoffs, and you know he's gonna try to feel like, what does it play at NHL, obviously.

"But, yeah, but it's not our decisions who's going to play or who's not. So just going to try to help him out."

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Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals have lost three straight games during their current 0-2-1 stretch. They'll hope the addition of Ryan Leonard can provide a boost to their lineup to close out the regular season in preparation for a Stanley Cup run.

Alex Ovechkin and Ryan Leonard will start on separate lines

Alex Ovechkin and Ryan Leonard will not begin on the same line on Tuesday.

Ovechkin will man the left side with Pierre-Luc Dubois in the middle and Tom Wilson on the right, while Leonard will play with Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas.

Capitals reporter Tom Gulitti shared updates on the line combinations on X (formerly Twitter).

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An already deep and talented Washington Capitals forward group looks even better with Ryan Leonard slotted into the lineup. Connor McMichael, who's racked up 54 points (25 goals, 29 assists) in 73 games this season, is now on the third line, quite the luxury head coach Spencer Carbery possesses.

Alex Ovechkin, Ryan Leonard and the Capitals are in action on Tuesday night in Boston against the Bruins. The puck drops at 7 p.m. EDT at TD Garden.

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