John Gerard Leonard (born August 7, 1998) is an American professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

player for the

Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. They are affiliated with the NHL's Nashvil ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL) as a prospect to the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). Leonard was selected 182nd overall by the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

in the

2018 NHL Entry Draft The 2018 NHL Entry Draft was the 56th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 22–23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The 2018 NHL Entry Draft was the second of two professional sports drafts to be held in the Dalla ...

Playing career

Leonard was originally first eligible to be drafted in

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, but was not selected while playing for the Green Bay Gamblers of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictl ...

. After two years with the Gamblers, Leonard joined the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...

("UMass"), playing for their ice hockey team, the

UMass Minutemen The UMass Minutemen are the athletic teams that represent the University of Massachusetts Amherst; strictly speaking, the ''Minutemen'' nickname applies to men's teams and athletes only — women's teams and athletes are known as ...

while studying Communications and Sport Management. While with the Minutemen, Leonard caught the attention of the

, who drafted him in the sixth round, 182nd overall in the

despite not having any contact with Leonard during the predraft process. In his third year at UMass, Leonard was a finalist for the

Hobey Baker Award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 41 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton Universit ...

and lead all NCAA players in goals, with 27. On March 31, 2020, Leonard decided to forgo his final year of college eligibility and was signed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Sharks. Leonard made the opening night roster and made his NHL debut against the

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mul ...

on January 14, 2021, playing on a line with

Evander Kane Evander Frank Kane (born August 2, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Atlanta Thrashers, Winnipeg Jets, Buffalo Sabres, and San J ...

and

Tomáš Hertl Tomáš Hertl (born 12 November 1993) is a Czech professional ice hockey forward and alternate captain for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hertl was selected 17th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Sharks. He i ...

. Leonard posted two points in his debut, assisting on goals by both his linemates, helping the Sharks to a 4–3 shootout victory. His first goal came in a 3–2 win over the Anaheim Ducks on February 15, 2021. After his second full professional season within the Sharks organization, on July 8, 2022, Leonard was traded along with a

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

third-round pick at the

2022 NHL Entry Draft The 2022 NHL Entry Draft was the 60th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on July 7–8, 2022, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. Montreal were originally scheduled to host the 2020 draft but were unable to do so due to the COVID-19 pandem ...

to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Luke Kunin. On July 18, 2022, Leonard was signed as a restricted free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the Predators for the season.

Personal life

Leonard was born on August 7, 1998 to parents John and Cindy Leonard. He has three siblings. John Sr. was an assistant coach for the

UMass Minutemen basketball The UMass Minutemen basketball team represents the University of Massachusetts Amherst in Amherst, Massachusetts, in NCAA Division I men's college basketball. They play their home games in the William D. Mullins Memorial Center. The Minutemen cur ...

team between 2001 and 2005.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* 1998 births Living people AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans American men's ice hockey left wingers Green Bay Gamblers players Ice hockey players from Massachusetts Milwaukee Admirals players Nashville Predators players San Jose Barracuda players San Jose Sharks draft picks San Jose Sharks players Sportspeople from Amherst, Massachusetts UMass Minutemen ice hockey players Isenberg School of Management alumni University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni {{US-icehockey-center-stub