I guess my only point with Johnson is that he did not pick himself in the first round. Botts did, and yes - it appears that some players picked after him have had some success at the level at which they currently play. I don't want to put myself in a position that I'm defending a Botts pick -because I hated Botts as GM. But the fact is, he's the player we have right now and I think he should be judged on his own merit as opposed to being judged based on the degree of disdain we have for the guy who picked him or who we could have had - who also still need to make their mark at the NHL level,btw
The past few days, I've read a lot of scouting reports on Johnson done prior to the 2019 draft. Low floor, low ceiling are the last things I think of when I read them. Most of the scouts pointed out his lack of offensive output for sure. They also pointed out some inconsistencies in his passing. They all said he has a high hockey IQ, great acceleration, very good speed, outstanding edgework, excellent ability to stop zone entries, great positional play, great work in cutting off angles, a good stick, great puck handling and control, a great outlet pass, excellent in leading controlled offensive entries and his high ceiling.
Personally, I think he'll need this year and next in college before he turns pro. Let's see if he makes the WJC team and see how he performs there. Overall as someone up-thread said, what's so bad about having a smooth skating defensive oriented defenseman for the next 10 years. Any of you guys ever heard of Mike Ramsey, Bill Hajt, Tony Lydman or James Patrick? We've already got Dahlin, Risto and Jokiharyu and perhaps Pilut. Complementary players are also desirable on a team
