GAWANKE ONE OF JETS' TOP DEFENSIVE PROSPECTS
From a healthy scratch for some games at the beginning of the 2019-20 season to quarterbacking the Moose’s top power play unit by the end of it, Leon Gawanke had quite the rookie campaign.
Turning pro after a strong, 57-point 2018-19 with the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, the 2017 fifth-rounder saw his role exponentially increase as many other Moose defensemen either hit the shelf or were called up.
The German-born Gawanke was one of many Jets who played in Europe on an overseas loan while the NHL was working out logistics for the 2020-21 season. He suited up for six games for his hometown DEL club, Eisbären Berlin, and recorded two assists before returning to North America in mid-January. Leon Gawanke had an excellent rookie season and has kept fresh by playing in Germany.
In November, prior to the delayed start of the DEL season, he played for Germany in the Deutschland Cup 2020, recording two assists in three games.
