Brett Leonhardt (born September 21, 1982) is a former ice hockey goaltender for the

Kitchener Dutchmen The Kitchener Dutchmen were a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. They played in the Mid-Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. History The Kitchener Dutchmen franchise was founded in 195 ...

of the

Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League The Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL) is a Canadian junior ice hockey league based in Southern Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association, Ontario Hockey Federation, and Hockey Canada. The league is c ...

(GOJHL), the

State University of New York at Oswego State University of New York at Oswego (SUNY Oswego or Oswego State) is a public college in the City of Oswego and Town of Oswego, New York. It has two campuses: historic lakeside campus in Oswego and Metro Center in Syracuse, New York. SUN ...

of the

State University of New York Athletic Conference The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) is an NCAA Division III athletics conference consisting of schools in the State University of New York system. It was chartered in 1958 as the New York State Intercollegiate Athletic Co ...

(SUNYAC), and

Neumann College Neumann University is a private Roman Catholic liberal arts college in Aston, Pennsylvania. It is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia. History The roots of Neumann University began in 1855 when Bishop (later Saint) John Ne ...

of ECAC West. He is currently an assistant coach with the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). He suited up twice as an emergency backup goaltender (EBUG) for the Washington Capitals, on December 12, 2008, and November 29, 2013.

Career

Leonhardt was a web producer with the Capitals from the fall of 2007 until February 2011, when he left for a video editing job with the NHL in Toronto. He returned to the Capitals in 2012 as their video coach. As a coach, he won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

with the Washington Capitals in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. Leonhardt was promoted to Assistant Coach-Video starting the Washington Capitals 2018–19 season.

Washington call-ups

On December 12, 2008, the Capitals were preparing to host the Ottawa Senators. During the morning skate, starting goaltender José Théodore suffered a

hip flexor A flexor is a muscle that flexes a joint. In anatomy, flexion (from the Latin verb ''flectere'', to bend) is a joint movement that decreases the angle between the bones that converge at the joint. For example, one’s elbow joint flexes when one ...

injury, forcing the Capitals to recall Semyon Varlamov from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hershey Bears so that he could back up goaltender

Brent Johnson Brent Spencer Johnson (born March 12, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League for the St. Louis Blues, Phoenix Coyotes, Washington Capitals, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is curr ...

. However, Varlamov was with the Bears in San Antonio, Texas and was unable to make it to Washington in time to start the game as the backup goaltender. As a result, the Capitals were forced to dress three goaltenders, signing Leonhardt, the team's web producer, to an amateur tryout contract before the game to back up

until the arrival of Varlamov. Because of his experience in NCAA Division III ice hockey with the

and

, as well as the Kitchener Dutchmen of the GOJHL, Leonhardt, nicknamed "Stretch" due to his height, had previously participated in on-ice practice sessions with the Capitals, filling in when an additional goaltender was needed. Varlamov arrived 9:03 into the first period and replaced Leonhardt as Johnson's backup for the remainder of the game. At tall, had Leonhardt played in the game, he would have tied Ben Bishop as the tallest goalie in NHL history. He did not receive any pay for his contract. These bizarre circumstances were remarkably similar to those the Vancouver Canucks faced on December 9, 2003, when starting goaltender

Dan Cloutier Daniel Cloutier (born April 22, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. In his 10-year National Hockey League (NHL) career, Cloutier played with the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles K ...

suffered a groin injury during the morning skate, forcing the Canucks to sign University of British Columbia goaltender Chris Levesque to an amateur tryout contract. On November 29, 2013, Capitals starting goalie Michal Neuvirth was injured during warmups before a game against the Montreal Canadiens and scratched from the lineup.

Braden Holtby Braden Holtby (born September 16, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He previously played for the Washington Capitals, Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars of the National Hockey Lea ...

filled in as the starter and with no time to call anyone up from the minors, Leonhardt served as emergency backup goalie. Leonhardt still performed his duties as video coach during the second intermission wearing full goalie gear.

Career statistics

References

External links

Official Washington Capitals profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonhardt, Brett 1982 births Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Ice hockey people from Kitchener, Ontario Living people Neumann Knights men's ice hockey players Oswego Lakers men's ice hockey players Washington Capitals coaches Canadian ice hockey coaches Stanley Cup champions