While the final four NHL teams contend to earn their spot in the 2025 Stanley Cup Finals, the AHL just witnessed a huge Calder Cup Playoffs upset. After two back-to-back losses against the Charlotte Checkers, two-time defending champions Hershey Bears found themselves in a do-or-die situation in Game 3 of the Atlantic Division finals. With his NHL season ending in Round 2 against the Carolina Hurricanes, Capitals’ rising star Ryan Leonard dropped by Giant Center to watch the crucial game.
Leonard, who had the golden opportunity to play his first NHL playoffs within a month after signing with the Capitals, was there to support his brother. The former Boston College Eagles player’s older brother, John Leonard, was part of the Charlotte Checkers team leading the Bears 2-0. Leonard didn’t go there alone. Capitals teammates Ethen Frank and Dylan McIlrath, and AHL star Joe Snively, accompanied him.
While all four hockey players had their NHL connection (Snively is under contract with the Detroit Red Wings), there was one thing that Ryan Leonard didn’t share with others. He wasn’t a Calder Cup champion. So when they announced their names in Giant Center, Leonard decided to resort to some shenanigans.
“When they announced the former three Calder Cup champs, he ducked out of view of the camera,” posted RMNB writer Ian Oland. There was also another thing that Leonard didn’t share with the trio. Frank, McIlrath, and Snively have played for the Hershey Bears at one point in their career, while Leonard skipped the AHL.
Ryan Leonard is also at the Hershey Bears game sitting with Ethen Frank, Dylan McIlrath, and Joe Snively. When they announced the former three Calder Cup champs, he ducked out of view of the camera
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) May 21, 2025
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