Ryerson Leenders – The Future of Canadian Goaltending

By Christian Lazar

Following a very strong sophomore OHL season, Ryerson Leenders has established himself as one of the top goaltenders of the 2024 NHL Draft Class.

The 32nd overall pick of the 2022 OHL Priority Selection Draft doubled his win total last season, and ended the season with the best save percentage among qualified goalies in the league.

His spectacular campaign was noticed not just by teams around the OHL, but by both Hockey Canada and the 32 clubs in the National Hockey League.

This past January, Leenders was one of four goalies selected by NHL teams to participate in the CHL Top Prospects game and was excellent in his stint, turning aside 19 of the 20 shots he faced to help Team Red defeat Team White 3-1.

He parlayed his success in Moncton and over the course of the year into an opportunity to don the red and white at the U18 IIHF World Hockey Championships, where he alongside Steelheads teammates Jack Ivankovic and Porter Martone captured the gold medal by defeating the United States in the Gold Medal Game.

Although Leenders only had one start in the tournament, it was a stellar one. Appearing against Switzerland in the round robin, the Nanticoke native had to be excellent early as Canada got off to a slow start. He made a number of outstanding saves throughout the contest, keeping his team in it until they found their legs.

Canada would ultimately pull away and win the game 7-1, but Leenders was a big reason why they were able to do so, making 26 saves to secure his only victory of the tournament.

The 6’1 goaltender finished the season ranked as the 10th highest goalie prospect in North America on the NHL Central Scouting draft board, subsequently making him the third 3rd highest ranking among OHL netminders.

Leenders will look to build on that success next season in Brampton, but before he can get there he’s surely counting down the days until he hears his name called during the NHL Draft.