By Mark Janzen /
When Ryan Johansen was selected in the seventh round (150th overall) of the 2007 WHL Bantam Draft, you can be sure no one anticipated the events that would transpire on June 25, 2010.
Johansen was 5-9 and 150 pounds and was hardly hawking serious scouting attention.
But three years later, five inches taller and 42 pounds heavier, the Portland Winterhawks centre was the fourth name called at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft and eloquently donned the Columbus Blue Jackets sweater far before most people at the Stapes Centre in Los Angeles had anticipated.
Well, except for Johansen himself.
Sure, he may have been ranked 10th by Central Scouting but the Port Moody, B.C.-product wasn’t completely shocked when Columbus came calling so early.
“Yea, maybe I’m a little surprised, but I [knew] they [Columbus] were thinking highly of me,” Johansen said shortly after being selected. “I just wasn’t rated so high by Central Scouting. So it was just in the back of my head that it was a maybe. You know, I worked my hardest throughout the year and did what I could. Thankfully, they noticed, and now I’m here.”
Only three players were picked higher than Johansen in this year’s draft – Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin and Erik Gudbranson – which is a far cry from his days with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees, only two seasons ago.
After Johansen was drafted by Portland as a pint-sized forward – mind you, one with a ton of hockey talent – he went to play for the Vees in an effort to improve his skills and put on some size before making the jump to Major Junior.
Fortunately for Johansen, and now to the delight of Columbus GM Scott Howson, both his skill and size progressed swimmingly.
After garnering 17 points in 47 games with the Vees in 2008/09, he jumped to the Winterhawks for the 2009/10 campaign and promptly scored 25 goals and notched 44 assists in 71 games in the regular season, plus another 18 points in 13 games in the playoffs.
“We’re very high on him,” Howson said. “He’s a really good player who grew a lot, last year. He was great in the playoffs, has terrific size, and has really developed in the last year or so.”
“We don’t consider this a surprise at all. We liked everything we saw in Ryan and we [were] delighted to get him with the No. 4 pick.”
Johansen, who says he patterns his game after San Jose Sharks centre Joe Thornton, is a brilliant playmaker who can skate and score.
And, like Thornton, he has that rangy ability to corral loose pucks while using his sizable frame to protect the biscuit upon acquisition.
“Ryan is a fantastic centreman with great ability,” said Nino Neiderreiter, the Swiss sensation who played alongside Johansen in Portland. “He’s a playmaker…I’m really happy for him to go [to Columbus].”
And Johansen is hoping that trip to Columbus is one that doesn’t include a return flight.
While it’s likely he’ll be back in Portland for another year of seasoning, for Johansen – who makes the surprising seem common place – you never know.
“We’ll see,” Johansen said. “I’ll got to camp with the idea of making the [Blue Jackets] and we’ll go from there.” |