Ryan Leonard's goal for Team USA came in the third period with 3:48 to go in the game to put them up 5-2 en route to a 6-2 win over Team Sweden to capture the gold medal in the World Junior Championship.
In addition to Leonard, Ryan Chesley who's a second rounder from the 2022 draft and a sophomore at the University of Minnesota, also represented his home country in the tournament from the Washington Capitals system.
They traveled to Gothenburg, Sweden and entering today's game Leonard had recorded a point in five of Team USA's six contests with two goals and three assists while Chesley had registered four points with a goal and three assists.
Chesley led the Americans in ice time at 25:13 minutes and recorded an assist in their 3-2 win over Finland in the semifinal on Thursday.
With Boston College, Leonard has recorded 18 points in 17 games with 10 goals and eight assists, ranked tied for first on the team in plus/minus with +8, second in goals with 10 and shots with 66 and fourth in points.
The 2023 first rounder won a gold medal with USA at the 2023 Under 18 World Championships scoring the gold medal clinching goal in overtime against the Swedes which gave the US their first U18 gold since 2017.
The Amherst, Massachusetts native led all skaters in plus/minutes with +16 and finished third in tournament scoring with 17 points in seven games with eight goals and nine assists.
Chesley meanwhile has registered six points with two goals and four assists and a team high +9 plus/minus rating in 18 games this season with Minnesota.
It's good to see future Caps shine on the big stage. It'll still be a few years before we see those guys at the NHL level but at least we know that they know how to win.