ARLINGTON, V.A. — Brandon Duhaime won’t truly take credit for taking Washington Capitals rookie Ryan Leonard under his wing.
“It was by default,” he joked with a deadpan expression. “I think no one else wanted to do it.”
Despite the quips, Duhaime has been more than happy to play a role in Leonard’s transition to the NHL, and the two have gone on to form a tight bond as the freshman navigates his first true rookie season.
Both Duhaime and Leonard are college hockey products, with Duhaime having made his mark at Providence as a 2016 fourth-round pick while Leonard starred at Boston College after going eighth overall to D.C. in the 2023 NHL Draft.
It’s Leonard who remains the go-to encyclopedia for all things NCAA in the Capitals dressing room, and that in itself helped kick-start their friendship.
“He’s talking some trash about B.C. being better than Providence, but if you look at the track record when I was there, I think we had their number pretty good,” Duhaime noted. “But that’s kind of how it all started was the connection through college, and just grew from there.”
From there, the two found more in common, translating to dinners together on the road, ongoing sewer ball rivalries and Leonard hanging out with Duhaime more often than not.