Player Discussion: Kent Johnson

[stevo61]

Where would you have KJ in a re-draft if it was held today? Who would you take before him?

Such a weird draft for me and still a weird top end. Looked like a few guys could pop but none of them have really jumped ahead. Johnston has probably been looking the best over the last year from that draft but then it's up in the air. To be fair though Johnston is probably in a better situation than most of these guys but to his credit he's fully taken advantage of what he was given and exceeded expectations. This version of Johnson has to put him close to the very top if he sustains it.

Guess Anaheim fans were right, he's no Zegras. He's an actual player improving in all 3 zones

 

[Crede777]

Where would you have KJ in a re-draft if it was held today? Who would you take before him?

I would still have Johnson go 5th OA behind Beniers at 1st OA (despite his sophomore slump it's clear he projects as a 70+ point center with strong leadership and two-way play) and then some order of Power, Hughes, and McTavish.

To bump up Johnson he would need to outproduce the others by a good margin due to him being a W.

 

[GoJackets1]

If KJ continues to look as good as he does now, I think by midseason you could argue he should go over McTavish in a redraft. They had roughly equivalent rookie seasons. Obviously KJ had a rough year last year, but McTavish didn't improve by that much either. They also suit different needs. But KJ is at least playing all-situations now as well.

As an aside, I continue to be amazed by how much faster he looks this year. His first couple of years, he always looked like he was skating in mud a bit. That's gone now. Thank goodness, because adding speed was always what was needed to make him a much more dangerous player at this level.

 

[majormajor]

Where would you have KJ in a re-draft if it was held today? Who would you take before him?

I couldn't confidently rank them at this point. So many guys maturing at different times. But I'll point out that the top has been disappointing. Power, Beniers, and McTavish are not looking great right now. KJ's competition seems to be Logan Stankoven, Wyatt Johnston, Dylan Guenther, and maybe a late blooming D like Brandt Clarke or Simon Edvinsson. A lot of these guys only have a few games played at this point.

 

[majormajor]

I would still have Johnson go 5th OA behind Beniers at 1st OA (despite his sophomore slump it's clear he projects as a 70+ point center with strong leadership and two-way play) and then some order of Power, Hughes, and McTavish.

To bump up Johnson he would need to outproduce the others by a good margin due to him being a W.

Seattle fans are not so sanguine about Beniers at this point. He's a good two-way guy but 70 pts is asking a lot from him.

McTavish's lack of pace is kind of a problem defensively and with how many lazy type penalties he takes. And obviously KJ has the much bigger offensive ceiling.

Power, when you watch him you might have a hard time remembering why people thought he was so good. There isn't much dynamism in his game right now.