"I’ve seen what it takes to be a Hobey Baker candidate. It should be somebody who has the ability to dominate games and John has shown that this year the second half of the season. He’s single-handedly taken over games. He has the goal scoring ability that I don’t think is matched by anyone at this level." - Massachusetts Head Coach Greg Carvel
THE NATION'S LEADING GOAL SCORER
With 27 goals in 33 games, John Leonard averaged 0.82 goals per-game.
This not only led the nation in both categories but was a higher goals per-game rate than 30 of 39 Hobey Baker recipients to date.
Only three Hobey winners have scored more goals in the past 11 seasons.
COMING THROUGH IN THE CLUTCH
With UMass ravaged with injuries over the final month of the season to the tune of 26 man-games lost, Leonard put the team on his back, leading the nation with 2.14 points per-game, 1.43 goals per-game and 10 goals since February 1. He also had three-game winners, helping UMass go 5-2-0 over that stretch and secure the No. 2 spot in the Hockey East standings.
Leonard led the nation in third period goals (16), third period points (21) and game-winning goals (four) scored in the final frame.
Leonard helped the program remain contenders for a second straight NCAA Tournament berth. UMass finished eighth in the PairWise rankings and spent 22 straight weeks in the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls.
LEONARD AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS
In addition to leading the NCAA in goals in 2019-20, Leonard also finished in the top-20 in the following:
- Points Per-Game - 16th (1.12)
- Game-Winning Goals - t-1st (6)
- Hat Tricks - t-1st (2)
- Shots On Goal - 9th (138)
LEONARD CAREER ACCOLADES
- 2019-20 Hockey East Player of the Year Finalist
- 2019-20 Hockey East First-Team All-Star
- 2019-20 Hockey East PNC Bank Three Stars Award
- 2018-19 Hockey East Second-Team All-Star
- 2019 NCAA Northeast Regional All-Tournament Team
- Five-Time Hockey East Player of the Week
- Two-Time Hockey East Rookie of the Week
LEONARD IN THE UMASS RECORD BOOK
- Career Game-Winning Goals: 1st (10)
- Career Goals: 4th (56)
- Career Plus-Minus: t-5th (+30)
- Career Points: 8th (105)
- Career Power-Play Goals: t-8th (16)
Leonard became just the sixth member of the 50-goal, 100-point club in UMass history, the first to reach the milestone as a junior in the Division I era
"Playing at UMass, in my hometown, has been my dream since I was a kid watching games here. It’s great to play in front of the community I grew up in, and be given the opportunity to give back because I remember being a kid idolizing the UMass players anytime I saw them. So any chance I have to hang out with young kids or give back, I try to as much as I can. I really enjoy it because I was that same kid in this same town."
- John Leonard on being active in the UMass community
LEONARD IN THE COMMUNITY
"Now a junior, he's become even more than a goal-scorer. He's killing penalties for the Minutemen. He's playing when they need to close a tight game. The transformation was evident the moment formal hockey activities began."
Joe Meloni - College Hockey News
"He was a guy that we really weren't worried about having to take a big step forward, but he took it upon himself and he came back at an unbelievably new level. He's faster, stronger, he's scoring goals in different ways that he wasn't scoring before."
