Ryan Leonard’s competitiveness comes from his family. Could it make him a draft fit for the Flyers?

Long before U.S. National Team Development Program right winger Ryan Leonard became a top NHL draft prospect, he was his older brother John’s shooter tutor.

John, who is six years Leonard’s senior and played in the Nashville Predators’ organization last season, used to drag his brother downstairs to the basement of their childhood home in Amherst, Mass., for target practice. Leonard tossed on the goalie gear and cowered in net as John fired tennis balls at his head, determined to make his younger brother see fuzzy, lime spheres in his nightmares. When John’s friends came over, the volume of tennis balls aimed at Leonard increased exponentially.

» READ MORE: NHL draft: Ryan Leonard would tick several boxes for the Flyers

“I wanted him to be a goalie,” John explained to The Inquirer. “It’s a good thing he didn’t pick goalie, I guess.”

But Leonard never sustained more than a few bruises to his body or his ego. As the youngest of four siblings — including two older sisters, Alyssa by 13 years and Brianna by 11 — Leonard thrived off the seemingly endless ribbing and competition. He could take it and give it back, besting his siblings in fierce matches of Connect 4 and cornhole.

Those basement battles and sibling rivalries jumpstarted his competitive motor and translated to each phase of hockey, whether he was playing up an age group at the youth level or training with his brother and other hockey pros in the offseason as a 16-year-old. That unyielding drive has become a hallmark of Leonard’s game, catapulting him into the top-10 conversation at the draft on June 28 and making him an intriguing fit for the Flyers at No. 7.

“It kind of made me the competitor I am,” Leonard said. “If I wasn’t really picked on as a kid, being the youngest of four, even picked on even worse now being the youngest in the training group, I don’t think I’d be the person I am.”

Hockey isn’t in the Leonard family’s DNA. Patriarch John Leonard Sr. was a 10th-round pick of the New York Knicks in 1982 and was an assistant coach of the men’s basketball teams at Villanova from 1992-96 and at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst from 2001-05.

The basketball and hockey teams share a facility on UMass’ campus so John Sr. and his wife Cindy signed John Jr. up to learn to skate because it was the most convenient activity available during basketball season. A few years after Leonard was born, his parents stuffed him in skates and sent him out on the ice at UMass with an upside-down bucket to help him stay upright.

“They just kind of put me on the ice and said, ‘Have fun,’” Leonard said.

John Jr. and Leonard also played basketball growing up, just like John Sr., Alyssa, and Brianna did, with the sisters each playing in college. But the brothers never solely focused on basketball, which coincided in the winter with hockey season. Leonard grew fixated on hockey, enamored with skating and scoring goals. He especially enjoyed the physical nature of the sport compared to basketball.

While excelling in the youth hockey ranks, Leonard first realized he wanted to pursue hockey long-term at age 10 when he competed at the esteemed Brick Invitational in Edmonton, Alberta, for the Boston Jr. Bruins against top North American talent.

“Kind of [an] eye-opener,” Leonard said. “Parents spent a couple bucks on that trip to make that happen. ... It’s pretty cool and kind of just wanted to keep pursuing that.”

The NTDP kept tabs on Leonard while he played at Pope Francis Preparatory School in Springfield, Mass., extending him an invitation to their 2021 evaluation camp with 48 other Under-17 team hopefuls in Plymouth, Mich.

» READ MORE: Inside the development of draft prospect Oliver Moore, from a sub-five-minute mile to a flower farm

After the weeklong camp, Leonard was one of the 24 players that made the cut. He recalled being with his father in Plymouth and calling his mother back home to deliver the good news, eager for the opportunity that awaited him.

“Always been a competitive kid,” Leonard said. “But to go against the best kids in the world for two years at your age group and in America, kind of pushed you to become the player you are.”

Leonard excelled in his first year with the NTDP, playing 26 games with the U17 team (10 goals and 10 assists) and 33 games with the U18 team (12 goals and seven assists). But it was during his second year that he began flying up draft boards.

Head coach Dan Muse teamed the 6-foot, 190-pound Leonard up with center Will Smith and left winger Gabe Perreault at the start of the season to form the program’s top line. Each member of the trio brought their own talents to the table, from Leonard’s compete to Smith’s skill and Perreault’s smarts. All three eclipsed 50 goals — Perreault scored 53 (132 points in 63 games), Smith tallied 51 (127 points in 60 games), and Leonard had 51 (94 points in 57 games).

Leonard flaunted his power game all season long, showcasing his physicality at both ends of the ice. He also exhibited slick hands, unwavering competitiveness, sound skating, and a commitment to playing a solid defensive game. Plus, he possesses a lethal shot, displaying an affinity for attacking and scoring in the dirty areas of the ice.

But he isn’t just a one-dimensional scorer. He also can facilitate plays for his linemates. Skating alongside the skilled Smith and Perreault — both of whom are also expected to be first-round picks — influenced Leonard’s game this season and brought out the playmaker within him. But it was Leonard’s professional approach to the day-to-day grind that impressed Muse the most.

“When you have somebody that’s as competitive as he is, it forces everybody around you to compete even harder,” Muse said. “He doesn’t take any days off. He treats every day like it’s a playoff game. Every practice, every weight session. Everything he does, he just does it at an extremely high level, extremely competitive level.”

The draft year culminated with the U18 World Championship in which Leonard scored the overtime game-winner to help the U.S. earn gold over Sweden. When Leonard skated up the left wing with possession, crossed the blue line into the offensive zone, and cut to the high slot, Perreault already had one leg over the boards before Leonard released the puck.

“I’d seen him score so many goals like that during the year,” Perreault said. “Just when he has the puck on that wall, he always likes to go to the middle like that like he did on the goal.”

As evidenced by the U18 World Championship game-winner, big moments don’t faze Leonard. So at the combine in mid-June, Leonard had no problem heeding advice from his older brother, who told him to have fun and be himself in his 20-plus interviews with NHL clubs.

Leonard spoke to general manager Danny Brière and the Flyers scouts at the combine — “It was good vibes,” Leonard said — and will stay in touch with the team leading up to the draft. He understands that his power game and his competitiveness fit the mold of the prototypical Flyer, similar to the style of game that 2022 No. 5 overall pick Cutter Gauthier plays.

“I think I’d fit into Philadelphia pretty well,” Leonard said. “It’s kind of like me and them, [our] identities kind of go well together. But who knows what could happen.”

Next year, Leonard, Smith, and Perreault will join forces with Gauthier at Boston College. But before that, Leonard and John will train with their pro group in Springfield following the draft.

Leonard’s nerves around the older players, including Anaheim Ducks winger Frank Vatrano, have gradually subsided over the years. He isn’t getting pelted with tennis balls by his older brother anymore, but he still gets an earful in the gym if he messes up an exercise. It’s all in good fun, John said, and all part of Leonard’s journey to the draft stage.

“It just shows the kind of character he has and it goes a long way, whether it’s training or just getting that competitive edge,” John said. “Obviously, the way he plays, he has a really good competitive edge to him. That stuff goes a long way.”

» READ MORE: Which players could the Flyers trade? Here are some possibilities.