Today we’ll look at the speedy forward Ryan McLeod and how well he has developed over the past three seasons in the NHL.
McLeod was drafted in the second round, 40th overall, in the 2018 entry draft. He spent parts of four season with the Mississauga Steelheads and the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL. During his time in the Juniors he played 261 games and scored 194 points. While these are not Junior stats that will blow you away, McLeod has turned into a solid third line centre in Edmonton.
His first two seasons with the Oilers
McLeod spent a relatively short time in the minor leagues, partially due to COVID-19 shortened seasons in 2019–2020 and 2020–2021. An encouraging fact about his time with the Bakersfield Condors is that he went from a 0.5 points per game rate to 1.0 point per game. This improvement has been a theme over McLeods career. McLeod also spent time in Switzerland in 2020–21, playing with Zug and scoring 11 points in 15 games. While many Canadians may scoff at the Swiss National League, it is considered one of the best leagues in Europe and has historically been a landing spot for NHL players during lockout seasons. So I consider that an impressive accomplishment. Even though McLeod did spend time with the Oilers in 2020–21, it was only ten games and that is not enough to take any realistic NHL conclusions from, so I will consider 2021–22 his first season.
His first season with the Oilers saw him play 71 games and score 21 points with a -2 rating, 28 hits, 25 blocked shots, and 52% Corsi. A very solid season for a rookie and 16th in points among his draft class, despite being chosen 40th overall.
McLeod’s sophomore season saw a rise in icetime from 12:46 to 14:11 but he only played 57 games, suffering from injury. That year McLeod tallied 23 points, with a +4 rating, 40 hits, 20 blocked shots, and again a 52% corsi. One thing to note here is that he ranked fifth among his draft class who played over 50 games in Corsi and is one of only 15 in that group with a Corsi over 50%. He also ranked 16th in points per game that year among that same group of players.
His previous and current season
This season, in 72 games played, McLeod has 26 points, with a +11 rating, 62 hits, 30 blocked shots, and 54% Corsi. Though his points per game fell from 0.4 last year to 0.36 this year, his rating, hits, blocked shots and Corsi are all up and have mostly improved throughout his short career. In general, these stats, especially point totals, are not incredibly impressive but what is encouraging is that all his stats are slowly increasing over time. His rating, hits, and blocked shots show him becoming a much more well rounded player, and on a team that is already a powerhouse offensively, solid defensive stats are just what you want to see.
One of the most impressive McLeod stats is that, since the 2020–21 season, McLeod ranks 39th in the NHL in Corsi and third in his draft class. Again, keep in mind that he was drafted 40th overall. While 39th doesn’t seem so incredibly special, what is special is that McLeod, for a large chunk of that time, has been a third line player. It is not the case that he is playing with dominant players night in and night out who are carrying this stat for him. Even though Corsi is not possession time it is often used in statistics calculations as a proxy for one. If your third line is controlling 55% of the play, you’re in pretty good shape.
One thing I love watching about McLeod is his speed, which is absolutely central to the game of hockey. One of the first things you notice about very young hockey players, other than the large clumps of tiny humans fighting for a puck lost underneath a kid who has fallen asleep on the goal line, is that the good skaters dominate the games. Obviously the advantage you gain by being an excellent skater decreases greatly as all the other players catch up, but Connor McDavid and Nathan McKinnon are perfect examples of how demoralizing speed can be in the game of hockey. While McLeod will never be Connor McDavid, his speed is a huge asset in the game.
Stats from NHL.com, CapFriendly.com, and MoneyPuck.com
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
