“I was a little surprised,” Johnson told
The Athletic. “I didn’t really see it coming. I definitely thought (I was an NHL player).”“I’m doing all right,” Johnson said. “Ups and downs. I’m watching the Columbus games and checking in on them, but I’m having fun here with the Cleveland guys.”Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent has made it clear he believes Johnson (6-1, 170) needs to get stronger to play and thrive in the NHL. Even before he was sent to Cleveland, the Blue Jackets had Johnson on a personalized regiment that included more gym time than most players.
That’s why Johnson’s dominating offensive totals with AHL Cleveland haven’t been enough to earn a recall. In nine games, he has four goals, 10 assists and a plus-4 rating, putting up points in seven of the nine games. In Friday’s win over
Toronto, he scored the shootout game winner.
“We decided to send him down to regain his confidence,” Vincent said. “That’s what he’s building right now. But there’s a bigger aspect of this.
“It’s getting stronger physically, and it’s not his fault. He’s doing everything right. He’s just built that way, and now we’ve created (an off-ice) program for him to improve his ability to win those one-on-one battles. This is great that he’s scoring goals, but it’s more than points.”
Johnson pushes back on this a bit.
“I definitely want to get stronger … I agree with that,” Johnson said. “But I don’t feel like that’s the reason I’m here. I wouldn’t say I’m in agreement with that.
“I think I can help Columbus right now. I’m a confident guy. I feel like I was good last season, and I’m stronger this year than I was last year. With the body I have right now, I can still help in the NHL. I mean, I’m definitely not the weakest guy in the NHL.”
The Blue Jackets have not given Johnson an indication of when he might be recalled, he said. But the approach they’ve taken suggested it would be more than a few games. If Vincent is waiting for Johnson to get demonstrably stronger, it could take months.
Kekäläinen said Johnson won’t be on an NHL-AHL yo-yo.
“When he comes back he’s going to be here for good, so we’re going to give him the right amount of games to make sure we can keep him here for the rest of the year,” Kekäläinen said. “Obviously he’s going to have to earn the ice time just like everybody else, but I don’t want him going back and forth.
“I’m glad he’s having success and having consistency with it, as well. That’s what we were looking for.”
The Blue Jackets gave Johnson the option of sitting out a Nov. 3 game with Cleveland because he’d taken part in a full practice earlier in the day before driving 2 1/2 hours from Columbus. But he opted to play, putting up two assists in his AHL debut.
He had an assist the following night, too.
“It’s probably the worst my legs have ever felt,” Johnson said with a chuckle. “We played the next night, too, so I was battling my legs, big time. “You might not be the best at forechecking or backchecking when your legs feel like that, but there were plays to be made with the puck. On the power play, your legs don’t really matter.”