Alumni Report
John Leonard
Forward — Detroit Red Wings
Former Green Bay Gamblers forward John Leonard scored two goals and recorded two assists in seven games for the Detroit Red Wings after being called up to the NHL from the Grand Rapids Griffins to replace an injured Patrick Kane.
Leonard has helped the Red Wings to a 5-2 record and a first-place spot in the Atlantic Division since his first game with the team on Dec. 16.
Leonard’s first point of the season came when he recorded an assist in Detroit’s 4-1 loss to the Utah Mammoth on Dec. 17. He scored goals in his next two appearances against the Washington Capitals before tallying an assist against the Carolina Hurricanes on Dec. 27.
Leonard has scored 19 goals this season in the AHL for the second-best mark in the league and has helped Grand Rapids to an AHL best 26-1-0-1 record.
Leonard joined Grand Rapids during the offseason after being signed to a one-year contract by Detroit. Last year, Leonard was named an AHL All-Star with the Charlotte Checkers and took part in the league’s fastest skater competition. With the Checkers, he had a career-high 36 goals and 25 assists for 61 points.
Leonard played two seasons in Green Bay from 2015-17, where he scored 24 goals and added 19 assists. He helped the Gamblers to a second-place finish in the Eastern Conference during the 2015-16 season and tallied the fourth most points on the team the next season.
After playing for Green Bay, Leonard was selected in the sixth round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks and has gone on to play 76 games in the NHL for four teams.
Will Zellers
Forward — University of North Dakota
There’s nothing more special than getting selected to represent your country, let alone in your home state.
Former Gamblers forward Will Zellers had the opportunity to do just that. After being left off the initial preliminary roster, Zellers was added late and wasted no time proving why he belonged.
In his World Juniors debut, Zellers recorded two goals and one assist to lead the United States to a 6–3 victory over Germany. He followed that performance by scoring the game-winning goal against Switzerland, finishing a nifty wrist shot from a tough angle.
He heads into Team USA’s final group match against Sweded with a team leading 4 goals and 6 points.
Playing in front of a home state crowd in Minnesota made the moment even more meaningful.
“It’s unreal,” Zellers said. “I mean, we’re in the State of Hockey. This is such a big tournament for the United States, and especially for Minnesota to have something like this. It’s pretty special to have all that support from everyone.. cheering us on really motivates us,”
Last season with the Gamblers, Zellers earned USHL Player and Forward of the Year honors, after he broke the teams’ goal record.
Now Zellers plays for the University of North Dakota where his scoring touch hasn’t wavered. In the first half of the NCAA season Zellers has found the back of the net 10 times in 18 games played for the Fighting Hawks.
