Calle Johansson

[Ridley Simon]

Everyone liked Calle. Quietly effective... a modern day comparable from the current roster would be Karl Alzner. Never fought, never took bad penalties, always in good position.

He once said that most fans thought he was an offensive Dman since he was a svensk and could skate well, but that he considered himself a defensive dman first and foremost. Yeah he scored 15 once but averaged about 7-8 per year.

I would consider him maybe top 10 all time best caps dmen. Perhaps a list needs to be compiled to help kill the dog days of summer.

Hejdà

Scott Stevens
Rod Langway
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Calle Jo

He had a lot more offense than Karl does. I'd compare him to Niskanen. Does everything well.

 

[RandyHolt]

Nisky may be a good comparable. He is a bit more scrappy and physical than Calle of course, who never blew a fuse.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Nisky may be a good comparable. He is a bit more scrappy and physical than Calle of course, who never blew a fuse.

Cerebral comes to mind when I think of Calle Jo.

 

[Eye of Ra]

Nisky may be a good comparable. He is a bit more scrappy and physical than Calle of course, who never blew a fuse.

You sure? As a hockey-commentator on swedish television he always talked about how much he liked physicality and how important it is. Never striked me as a soft person. Was he really that non-physical?

 

[RandyHolt]

You sure? As a hockey-commentator on swedish television he always talked about how much he liked physicality and how important it is. Never striked me as a soft person. Was he really that non-physical?

Compared to others in his era, yes I believe so.

I think his consistently low PIM count attests to it somewhat. Make no mistake he was effective and would play the body, but not to hit and knock opposition players onto their *****. There are varying levels of physical play of course. He was not a banger a bopper a big hitter.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Soft is derogatory. He was a sound two way D. He played the body, just wasn't a bruiser.

 

[Devil Dancer]

I remember him being physical the way Backstrom is. He didn't throw big hits, but he used his body effectively to protect the puck or to try to separate it from the opposition.

 

[Silky mitts]

Just curious what you Capitals fans think about Calle Johansson.

Is Calle considered one of the best Capitals d-mans ever?

Was his style stay at home with some grit or skilled non-physical?

1) I nearly named my daughter Callie after Calle, extremely popular. Certainly one of the 10 most recognizable Caps alum among Caps fans probably top 5.
2) Yes largely due to longevity/reliability/consistency.
3) Skilled non-physical - never took a lot of PIMs, played a ton of minutes.

 

[Zoidberg Jesus]

I named my pokemon after Caps' defenders on those early '00s teams. Johansson, Gonchar, Cote, Klee, and Witt. The only one I remember for sure was that Witt was a Clefable. I've associated Witt with a little pink fairy ever since.