John Leonard (ice hockey)

Did You Know?

• His brother, Ryan, plays professional ice hockey for the Washington Capitals of the NHL.
• His father, John Sr., was an assistant coach for the UMass Minutemen basketball team between 2001 and 2005.
• Leonard has three siblings.

Playing career

Leonard was first eligible for the NHL draft in 2016 but went unselected while playing for the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League. After two seasons with the Gamblers, he joined the University of Massachusetts Amherst, playing for the UMass Minutemen and studying Communications and Sport Management. Despite having no contact with Leonard during the predraft process, the San Jose Sharks drafted him in the sixth round, 182nd overall, of the 2018 NHL entry draft. In his third year at UMass, Leonard led all NCAA players with 27 goals and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. On March 31, 2020, he forwent his final college year and signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Sharks. He made the opening night roster and debuted in the NHL on January 14, 2021, against the Arizona Coyotes, playing on a line with Evander Kane and Tomáš Hertl; he recorded two assists in a 4–3 shootout win. His first NHL goal came on February 15, 2021, in a 3–2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. On July 8, 2022, the Sharks traded Leonard and a 2023 third-round pick to the Nashville Predators for Luke Kunin. He signed a one-year, two-way contract with Nashville as a restricted free agent on July 18, 2022. Leonard spent most of that season with the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals, scoring 17 goals and 27 points in 67 games, and appeared in six NHL games with the Predators. He scored his first goal for Nashville—the game winner—against Sergei Bobrovsky on March 2, 2023, in a 2–1 win over the Florida Panthers. At season's end, Nashville did not extend a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.