Prospect Info: Ryan Johnson, D, 2019 #31 overall: Signed, Rochester (AHL), Assigned 3/8/24

[hizzoner]

These drafts have become the monkey paw’s version of granting everyone’s wishes to take defense from a few years ago.

Where is the offense coming from?

Should have been more specific in your wish.

You think the Sabres will return from the dead?

 

[Chainshot]

Dug up Future Considerations blurb on him. They have him at 42:

A smooth skater with high-end skills, Johnson plays a simple game and is calm when he has the puck in and among pressure. Due to his skating ability, he’s a great option to carry the puck up the ice. His positioning is good, his transition game is above average and he plays strong on his skates.

Showing awesome aggressiveness in front of his own net, he ties up bodies and the sticks of opponents well. He plays with an active stick in the defensive zone and defends the blue line well by standing up opponents. Due to his strong positioning, he often forces opponents to dump in the puck instead of letting them have a controlled zone entry. He always seems to make the right play out of his own zone and shows a great ability to find the smart pass on outlets due to his high hockey IQ

.

Relentless along the board in battles, he shows good instincts and awareness at both end of the ice and in the neutral zone. He jumps in on the rush when he sees an opportunity to do so. He’s calm, cool and collected in deep and tough down low on the power play. He has a good shot, opts to use it wisely, and doesn’t need much room to fire it on net. Doesn’t depend on a slap shot or wrist shot only when delivering punches from the blue line. He’s also able to let his wrist shot go at any time, even when he’s got defenders pressuring or draped on top of him.

 

[joshjull]

I think people wanted 31OA used in trade to address holes in the roster or baring that, feed forward talent into the prospect hopper. The trade didn't happen and of course, Johnson plays defense.

I get all of that and understand if posters would prefer that happened. But the carrying on and declaring us a one line offensive team based on those thing not happening is quite hyperbolic. We could have had a 2nd scoring line just this past season with a smarter usage of Sam alone. Never mind if others can develop going forward.

 

[Weaves]

Im really curious if there is some untapped offensive potential here. He definitely has the skating and mobility to create offense, has the IQ, and has at least an average shot - i can't see why he can't play a Quinn Hughes (stylistically) type game offensively and shutdown guys on defense using his mobility.

FWIW i would have taken Brink

 

[Chainshot]

Im really curious if there is some untapped offensive potential here. He definitely has the skating and mobility to create offense, has the IQ, and has at least an average shot - i can't see why he can't play a Quinn Hughes (stylistically) type game offensively and shutdown guys on defense using his mobility.

FWIW i would have taken Brink

I think the offense will come but it seems like his focus this past year was mostly in the disruption of plays and doing things in his own zone. Quinn's game is rooted in how he thinks the game. Having some similar tools won't make Johnson into Hughes but there will be opportunities to grow over the next 3-4 years that could see him add a layer or two of offensive play to his defensive work.

 

[Jim Bob]

THN’s best case scenario with his is Kris Letang and the report was really glowing.

Even if he isn’t a big point producer, it’s ok. The big key will be if he keeps developing as a guy that is good defensively and can continue to get the puck out of his own end.

 

[BuffaloGooner]

THN’s best case scenario with his is Kris Letang and the report was really glowing.

Even if he isn’t a big point producer, it’s ok. The big key will be if he keeps developing as a guy that is good defensively and can continue to get the puck out of his own end.

He’ll get bigger and stronger as he matures obviously. I’m less concerned about an individuals ability to play in the defensive zone than I am about team structure and a coach that knows how to suffocate and neutralize opposing offenses. His breakout ability and first pass are skills that not every prospect has. That excites me.

 

[Buffaloed]

I'm curious to see how he develops there as well. He is only 7 weeks from being a 2020 draft eligible, which may not seem like a lot but he's one of the younger d-men in his league and he still managed to play well at the defensive side of the game. I like that he'll have time at UM under Bob Motzko to round out. LaCombe looks like he'll be getting the PP cycles from what I know of the upcoming Gophers, yet those hands and feet do seem to holler more than just a new version of Bret Hedican. And hey... if he could turn out like Hedican, I'm down with it.

He's got Teppo Numminen's hands and feet.

 

[OkimLom]

He’s Mark Pysyk 2.0

 

[Jim Bob]

Johnson plans to major in sports psychology.

I like it!

 

[Dingo44]

Lots of super star defensemen were drafted in the second half of the first round or in the second round. Sometimes you don't know when the offense takes off. Kid has all the tools to make it happen.

 

[Tatanka]

As I mentioned upthread, I got to see him live twice. I'll throw out a stylistic comparison because it jumped at me twice. Again not performance but style. Scott Neidermayer. Similar skating stride and body positioning. Stick work as well. Not saying he will be a HOfer like Neidermayer.

 

[Samsonite23]

They better not have had offers to trade back

Not trading back is an overblown criticism. If he was BPA for them, just make the pick as he easily could've been gone after reading down.

Bobby Mac’s consolidated ratings had him at #33. So Buffalo took him 2 spots higher then that. I really doubt he would of been there 15 spots later.

The kid also interviewed at the combine with all 31 teams. So it's pretty safe to say he wouldn't have lasted long.

 

[hizzoner]

As I mentioned upthread, I got to see him live twice. I'll throw out a stylistic comparison because it jumped at me twice. Again not performance but style. Scott Neidermayer. Similar skating stride and body positioning. Stick work as well. Not saying he will be a HOfer like Neidermayer.

I just hope he does better than Guhle--who had size, terrific skating but could not turn that into anything.

 

[Tatanka]

I just hope he does better than Guhle--who had size, terrific skating but could not turn that into anything.

Guhle will be a starter in Anaheim this year. That is something.

 

[Grinder44]

I was hoping they'd get a forward at 31, but outside of Hoglander & Nick Robertson, I wasn't too excited by the forwards still on the board to be very disappointed. Would have rather they traded back and picked up two seconds if possible, but I'll wait and see how Johnson looks after a couple years of development.

 

[hizzoner]

Guhle will be a starter in Anaheim this year. That is something.

Good for him he is. I had high hopes for him but after his initial few games he was awful when I saw him.

 

[DolanPlsGoSabres]

Good for him he is. I had high hopes for him but after his initial few games he was awful when I saw him.

PhilHouselitis does that to some people. Take a look at Pilut et al. (2019)

 

[Chainshot]

The whole interview - 06-25 Sabres 2019 1st-round pick Ryan Johnson with the Instigators

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[Jim Bob]

The whole interview - 06-25 Sabres 2019 1st-round pick Ryan Johnson with the Instigators

I liked Ryan joking about doing laps around KBC because he met with pretty much every team at the combine.

 

[Fearnot]

I liked Ryan joking about doing laps around KBC because he met with pretty much every team at the combine.

The soft 'J' in Johnson making it pronounced Yohnson makes him very distinguished. The class this team has exuded for years has been sub-par and we finally signed a player to fill this glaring but often overlooked hole in the franchise.

 

[Chainshot]

The soft 'J' in Johnson making it pronounced Yohnson makes him very distinguished. The class this team has exuded for years has been sub-par and we finally signed a player to fill this glaring but often overlooked hole in the franchise.

That's his nickname. It really is said with the hard J, not the nordic pronunciation.

 

[Jim Carr's Rug]

The kid also interviewed at the combine with all 31 teams. So it's pretty safe to say he wouldn't have lasted long.

@Paxon
@WpgBuffan

Regardless if Ryan Johnson would be there or not, they should be trading back simply because they have been so terrible at identifying and developing talent. If they were self-aware, they would know that. If they had any input from an analytical department, they would know that. They need as many darts to throw at the top-100 as possible. See the Carolina Hurricanes. They might not be any better at identifying or developing talent, but their draft has better odds at being successful than Buffalo's only because they manage their assets better.

It's a general pattern in Buffalo's drafting, it's a general pattern in Buffalo's trades. Murray and Botterill both.
Buffalo keeps trading in their dollars for 75 cents over and over again, and look where it gets them.

 

[sabresEH]

I spoke with my cousin who scouts for an NHL team about Johnson. He said their team had him as a 2nd round grade because they don't see any offence at the NHL level. He did say he thinks he becomes a player, just nothing exciting.

Whoever said Mark Pysyk is spot on.