Kent Johnson has one peak left to conquer, and it’s the hockey equivalent of Mount Everest.
It’s almost time for the Blue Jackets’ 19-year-old forward to earn a roster spot, carve out a role and then do what he’s done at every other level in a career that made him the league’s fifth overall pick in 2021.
Johnson’s first opportunity to prove himself during a full NHL season has arrived. While eager to start the journey at this weekend’s prospects tournament in Traverse City, Michigan, Johnson knows nothing will be gifted based solely on draft position or his impressive list of accomplishments.
Everest awaits.
“I’ve got to earn it in camp, but I’m looking forward to everything,” Johnson said. “Obviously, the players are fast and they think fast, so it’s just a faster game (in the NHL), but it should be great.”
Will Kent Johnson become a Blue Jackets star this season?
Johnson has not merely succeeded at lower levels of hockey.
He’s risen to the top of scoring lists for almost every one of his previous teams, including the Trail Smoke Eaters of the British Columbia Hockey League, the University of Michigan and multiple Canadian national teams while competing at world juniors, world championships and last year’s Beijing. Winter Olympics.
His most recent standout performance was adding three goals, six assists and nine points for Canada at this summer’s world juniors in Edmonton, including a lacrosse-style “Michigan” goal and the “golden goal” in overtime to decide the gold medal game.
Aside from those three weeks, Johnson’s offseason was centered on adding size and strength. He increased his weight by eight pounds through weightlifting and shoveling food down his gullet, and those NHL games he played last season were used as a learning experience.
He finished with three assists in nine appearances for the Jackets at the end of the 2021-22 campaign and will begin hunting for his first NHL goal this year.
“I learned a lot of little subtleties, just from being up close with some of the top players, seeing what they do, routes they take away from the puck and whatnot, and how they play their game,” Johnson said. “Stuff like that was cool to pick up on. (Jakub) Voracek’s a really smart player. Great passer. I tried to watch him a lot when he was on the ice. That was probably one guy (I watched a lot).”
Is Kent Johnson a center or a winger?
Prior to his collegiate career, Johnson played exclusively in the middle. He was a dynamic center for Trail in the BCHL over two-plus seasons, compiling a whopping 147 points on 61 goals and 86 assists in just 111 games, including 41-60-101 in 2019-20, his final season before heading to Michigan. .
The Wolverines, overloaded with skilled forwards during both of Johnson’s seasons in Ann Arbor, played him exclusively at left wing. He excelled to the tune of 17-47-64 in just 58 career games, but it was two years of not taking faceoffs and not having to worry about the extra defensive responsibility centers are required to handle.
Johnson will likely need time to hone both of those areas if he ever shifts back to the middle full-time and that’s without addressing the issue of his size. Height isn’t a problem for Johnson, who’s listed at 6-1, but adding bulk might be an issue. Despite his added weight from the offseason, he’s listed at just 167 pounds, which makes him a featherweight by NHL center standards.
“Everyone has different things genetically (that are challenging),” Johnson said. “I think it’s probably harder away from the game for me than for others, but I’m just trying to make eating my job and stuff food down my throat, really. And then, obviously, the working out part. Those are the main two things (I worked on this summer).”
Johnson played center at development camp and will get another look there in Traverse City, centering a line with dynamic forward Kirill Marchenko. Whether that lasts into training camp will be something to watch, but the expectation when factoring in the Jackets’ center depth is that he’ll play primarily as a winger.
It shouldn’t affect his offensive potential either way.
Similar to Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane, a high-scoring right wing, and new teammate Johnny Gaudreau, a high-scoring left wing, Johnson has a knack for getting the puck in the net regardless of where he’s lined up.
All that’s left to do now is prove it in the sport’s top division. It’s time to conquer Everest and give the Blue Jackets another young star to pair with center Cole Sillinger, who was selected just seven spots after Johnson in the same draft.
“It definitely feels great and you don’t want to take it for granted,” Johnson said. “I feel like it’s a lucky time for me to be born, with the way the NHL’s going. It’s time to just get to work and try to help this team.”