The Kent Johnson thread

[CBJWerenski8]

 

[Youngguns80]

 

[Dumais]

anddddddddd miss

 

[CBJWerenski8]

 

[tunnelvision]

Lines?

Johnson - Danforth - Bjorkstrand?

Bjorkstrand seems like an obvious fit as he gives him a sniper-retriever combo. Center is difficult. Johnson will need someone to compensate for his low speed and help on the forecheck, but also be able to make a pass. Danforth then?

Bingo.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Listening to him sniff constantly on mic during his media session today keeps reminding me of the Seinfeld episode with the sniffing accountant.

 

[Youngguns80]

 

[Cowumbus]

 

[MoeBartoli]

Bingo.

I’m so looking forward to seeing #13. I have no expectation of him scoring, rather I’m more interested in just seeing his composure and mindset in his early NHL games.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Video version

 

[Cowumbus]

 

[Youngguns80]

 

[Cowumbus]

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Thought he started out OK and as the game went on he got worse. He wasn’t bad, just didn’t make many plays. Larsen apparently didn’t trust the line enough to play them in this game which is very odd since Bjorkstrand was on it.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Thought he started out OK and as the game went on he got worse. He wasn’t bad, just didn’t make many plays. Larsen apparently didn’t trust the line enough to play them in this game which is very odd since Bjorkstrand was on it.

I did see a couple of nice passes early in the 1st period and probably the first half of the 2nd but he went MIA after that. I'm assuming Larsen shortened the bench a bit. The shift chart I looked at still shows fairly regular shifts but he definitely was used less later in the game and wasn't memorable in the 3rd.

Still had plenty of flashes early on of what he can be as he continues to develop.

 

[koteka]

I did see a couple of nice passes early in the 1st period and probably the first half of the 2nd but he went MIA after that. I'm assuming Larsen shortened the bench a bit. The shift chart I looked at still shows fairly regular shifts but he definitely was used less later in the game and wasn't memorable in the 3rd.

Still had plenty of flashes early on of what he can be as he continues to develop.

He was hit by maybe Romanov and didn’t seem to play much after that. Maybe they decided to limit his time if the Canadiens were going to start hitting him with the Jackets clearly in the driver’s seat.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

He was hit by maybe Romanov and didn’t seem to play much after that. Maybe they decided to limit his time if the Canadiens were going to start hitting him with the Jackets clearly in the driver’s seat.

Possibly. It still looked like he was getting a shift every 5 minutes or so in the 3rd. He wasn't completely stapled to the bench but his minutes were being somewhat limited.

 

[DoingItCoolKiwi]

Johnson's position on 2PP was something I was happy about. Instead of playing him where he played in Michigan (Laine spot), they instantly put him to the position where he'll slot in once he is ready for a 1PP role.

 

[majormajor]

Johnson's position on 2PP was something I was happy about. Instead of playing him where he played in Michigan (Laine spot), they instantly put him to the position where he'll slot in once he is ready for a 1PP role.

Makes sense. Per the Jack Han article, Johnson should be able to play any PP position. So we should put him where we need him.

 

[Byrral]

After reading through this and the Blankenburg thread I think it's best for me to wait until the season plays out before I post any opinions of these young guys. The thing I liked from last night is the effect on the team in whole. Adding two young guys that can play gives the staff more options, gave the team a bit of jump and defensively a better balance as far as handedness (is that a word?). I will say that the staff is going to have to figure out how to utilize him. I will give them some time.

 

[Skriko]

After reading through this and the Blankenburg thread I think it's best for me to wait until the season plays out before I post any opinions of these young guys. The thing I liked from last night is the effect on the team in whole. Adding two young guys that can play gives the staff more options, gave the team a bit of jump and defensively a better balance as far as handedness (is that a word?). I will say that the staff is going to have to figure out how to utilize him. I will give them some time.

I’ll give time after next season before making opinions. When I remember what kind of player Mikko Rantanen was at that same age as Johnson now (Rantanen in his first season 15-16: 9gp, 0+0, -7, xGF% 5v5 41.9%...)... And I look at him now, the reviews of his future given after those first games would have been useless. I’m not saying Johnson would be the same player as Rantanen, but I mean that patience is really the key with young players.

 

[KJ Dangler]

I’ll give time after next season before making opinions. When I remember what kind of player Mikko Rantanen was at that same age as Johnson now (Rantanen in his first season 15-16: 9gp, 0+0, -7, xGF% 5v5 41.9%...)... And I look at him now, the reviews of his future given after those first games would have been useless. I’m not saying Johnson would be the same player as Rantanen, but I mean that patience is really the key with young players.

Good take… and Johnson made massive strides last night , and was really noticeable playing alongside Roslovic . Looks like his nerves are settling , and you can just see his instincts , and how he thinks the game is special .

 

[CBJWerenski8]

After typing this post out, it seems very hyper over reactive and negative. But I promise you it’s not meant to sound that way. It’s only game 3 of his career and obviously he’s battling nerves, unknown teammates, and systems. But this is just my very first reactions to him at the NHL level only 3 games in (so it means almost nothing, just putting it out there for future references to hopefully laugh at one day)

He’s way better without the puck than I was expecting. I’ve seen him play about 10 times this year (Michigan Canada (WJC and Olympics, now CBJ) and that’s something I guess I missed in my earlier viewings. He’s a good forechecker and is good at getting himself open. I believe he thinks the game real well.

But as far as offensive abilities, nothing is popping to me as elite or above average in his game that I’ve seen. He’s a good passer, but I wouldn’t say it’s amazing. His vision is his best trait I think. His shot is OK. And his skating is OK. He has some good traits that hopefully will develop over time, but I’m not seeing this high end offensive game breaking talent that he’s sometimes billed as quite yet.

 

[GoJackets1]

After typing this post out, it seems very hyper over reactive and negative. But I promise you it’s not meant to sound that way. It’s only game 3 of his career and obviously he’s battling nerves, unknown teammates, and systems. But this is just my very first reactions to him at the NHL level only 3 games in (so it means almost nothing, just putting it out there for future references to hopefully laugh at one day)

He’s way better without the puck than I was expecting. I’ve seen him play about 10 times this year (Michigan Canada (WJC and Olympics, now CBJ) and that’s something I guess I missed in my earlier viewings. He’s a good forechecker and is good at getting himself open. I believe he thinks the game real well.

But as far as offensive abilities, nothing is popping to me as elite or above average in his game that I’ve seen. He’s a good passer, but I wouldn’t say it’s amazing. His vision is his best trait I think. His shot is OK. And his skating is OK. He has some good traits that hopefully will develop over time, but I’m not seeing this high end offensive game breaking talent that he’s sometimes billed as quite yet.

There were a couple moments last night where I thought I saw Panarin-like flashes, especially in terms of OZ entry/neutral zone play. We need that guy that can carry the puck into the zone with speed, and then pull up and look for plays like Panarin did. I think Johnson did that a couple of times last night, and I would guess that he will improve with each passing game.

That being said, I would not be opposed to seeing him get time alongside Chinakhov, Angle, Foudy, etc and maybe even Marchenko and Pyhhtia in Cleveland to start the year out next year to get a feel for a pro game offense. Maybe 10-20 games there and then comes up. Unless he really blows our socks off in training camp and these last few games.

 

[Hello Johnny]

There were a couple moments last night where I thought I saw Panarin-like flashes, especially in terms of OZ entry/neutral zone play. We need that guy that can carry the puck into the zone with speed, and then pull up and look for plays like Panarin did. I think Johnson did that a couple of times last night, and I would guess that he will improve with each passing game.

That being said, I would not be opposed to seeing him get time alongside Chinakhov, Angle, Foudy, etc and maybe even Marchenko and Pyhhtia in Cleveland to start the year out next year to get a feel for a pro game offense. Maybe 10-20 games there and then comes up. Unless he really blows our socks off in training camp and these last few games.

Unless something happens, it looks like we'll be crowded at forward next year. I would love for KJ to play a fair amount in the AHL next year. It seems perfect for him at this stage.

Although that's how I felt about Chinakhov too and that didn't happen, so who knows.