- Ryan Leonard rode Team USA’s top line in the Worlds tune-up vs. Germany
- Caps winger picked up the primary assist on a Ryker Lee power-play opener
- Read below for the play, the full stat line, and Team USA’s tournament schedule
The Capitals’ Ryan Leonard got his 2026 World Championship started on the right foot.
Skating right wing on Team USA’s top line in Sunday’s 5-2 pre-tournament win over Germany at SAP Arena in Mannheim, the 21-year-old picked up the primary assist on the game’s opening goal. From the left faceoff circle, Leonard took a feed from Justin Faulk and slid a slick pass down low to Ryker Lee, who lifted a backhander over Philipp Grubauer’s shoulder at 13:31 of the first period.
Check out the play that got the Americans going:
Leonard finished with the assist, one shot on goal, a minor for interference, and 15:17 of ice time. Head coach Don Granato deployed him on Team USA’s top power-play unit alongside Faulk and Lee.
Goals from five different players got Team USA there. Sam Lafferty, Alex Steeves, Max Plante, and Mathieu Olivier (empty-netter) joined Lee on the scoresheet.
In net, Joseph Woll played the first half and stopped all 11 shots, with Devin Cooley closing things out on 16 saves.
Here’s USA Hockey on the final:
This is Leonard’s second senior-level Worlds after he played six games at the 2024 tournament. He also brought home back-to-back gold medals at the World Juniors in 2024 and 2025.
Coming off a rookie year of 20 goals and 25 assists in 72 games for Washington, the Amherst, Massachusetts product is the lone Caps player heading to Switzerland.
Granato’s group opens the tournament Friday at 2:20 p.m. ET against host Switzerland on NHL Network. From there, the Americans run through Great Britain, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Hungary, and Austria in group play before the quarterfinals on May 28.
If Sunday was any read, Leonard has already shoved himself into the top six.
