Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry44
Thanks. Do you think Johnston has a chance at the NHL someday? Was he just a skinny kid who developed late?
Any recon from Humboldt is welcome. Any comparisons to NHL players re: style/type?
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To be honest I don't know what his chances are, the kid is a complete stud who dominated the league, however there's players who dominate Major Junior A even and don't pan out and make the NHL.
I don't know a lot about Johnston's recruitment out of Midget AAA to say why he developed late. I heard he was on the Saskatoon Blades protected list but never played a game for them to keep his NCAA eligibility in tact (He had a full ride scholarship from Union already in Flin Flonbefore we acquired him before the start of this season).
He seems like the kind of guy who maybe is still a little sleight but with a stricter training routine (stricter then what most Jr. A teams have) he seems like he has the frame to put on positive muscle.
I always hate player comparisons to NHL players (even when we're talking kids coming out of the draft) but I can touch on some of his attributes if that helps. He plays a real headsy game and his transition game seems to be pretty solid. He's got a pretty quick wrist shot and snap shot, many of his goals going shelf the goalie doesn't even make a reaction to. He's also really good at distributing the puck, he uses his teammates a ton (unlike many highly skilled junior players). I don't know if anyone would call him a defensive wizard but he's resposible in his own end and took regular penalty kill shifts with the Broncos despite having plenty of 20 year olds on the team who could be playing regular PK time and keeping him fresh.
Like I said I don't know what his chances are, especially being a 20 year old UDFA, but I don't doubt he has the skill and size that he could potentially surprise some people.