Brett Leonhardt

Brett Leonhardt
Born	September 21, 1982 (1982-09-21) Kitchener, ON, CAN
Height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Caught	Right
Playing career	2008–2008

Brett Leonhardt (born September 21, 1982) is a former ice hockey goaltender for the Kitchener Dutchmen of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL), the State University of New York at Oswego of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC), and Neumann College of ECAC West. On December 12, 2008, he suited up to serve for one game as a backup goaltender for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). He served as Producer of the official Capitals' website from the fall of 2007 until February 2011 when he left for a video editing job with the NHL.

Call-up to Washington

On December 12, 2008, the Capitals were preparing to host the Ottawa Senators. During the morning skate, José Théodore suffered a hip flexor injury, forcing the Capitals to recall Semyon Varlamov from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hershey Bears. 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 website producer, to an amateur tryout contract before the game to back up Brent Johnson until the arrival of Varlamov. Because of his experience in NCAA Division III ice hockey with the State University of New York at Oswego and Neumann College, as well as the Kitchener Dutchmen of the GOJHL, Leonhardt 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. 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 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.

Career statistics

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SA	SO	GAA	SV%
2003–04	Oswego Lakers	SUNYAC		3	1	0	0	128:41	3	52	0	1.40	.942
2004–05	Oswego Lakers	SUNYAC		10	7	1	2	609:19	27	295	1	2.66	.908
2005–06	Neumann Knights	ECAC West		4	2	1	0	200:00	10	98	0	3.00	.898
2006–07	Neumann Knights	ECAC West		4	3	0	0	139:36	5	54	0	2.15	.907
College totals				21	13	2	0	1,077:36	45	499	1	2.51	.917

External links

• Official Washington Capitals profile