Prospect Info: Ryan Johnson, D, 2019 #31 overall: Signed, Rochester (AHL), Recalled 12/5/24

[Jim Bob]

The problem with Portillo is opportunity. He chose to pass on his opportunity at an open net in Rochester. At the end of this year Levi is expected to sign. That means he’s fighting Levi for starts in Rochester in 2024-25. That’s not ideal for either of their development since both need to play as much as possible. He has the option to walk onto any teams AHL roster he chooses where he isnt at best 1B. He’s gone.

Portillo chose to go to Michigan knowing that Strauss Mann was there already.

I don't know that his compete level is so low that he doesn't sign with Buffalo because Levi might sign next summer, as well.

 

[jmelm]

The problem with Portillo is opportunity. He chose to pass on his opportunity at an open net in Rochester. At the end of this year Levi is expected to sign. That means he’s fighting Levi for starts in Rochester in 2024-25. That’s not ideal for either of their development since both need to play as much as possible. He has the option to walk onto any teams AHL roster he chooses where he isnt at best 1B. He’s gone.

Remember also that while you want goalies to play a lot of games, the AHL also has a lot of back to back or 3 games in 3 days scenarios throughout the schdule. Sprinkle in the opportunity of a call up for a cup of coffee in the NHL to fill in if there's an injury, and there's sufficient opportunity for both of these guys to play.

Sure, ideally one of the 2 would have signed this year and the other next year, but it really shouldn't be too much of an obstacle and the competition between the two should be viewed as a positive (whether either or both of them see the competition as a positive or not).

 

[Thorton02]

How did we get an additional 3 pages today when nothing has changed?

 

[Ehran]

How did we get an additional 3 pages today when nothing has changed?

Welcome to the deadest part of offseason. NHL is basically on lockdown while the SCF are underway.

 

[ValJamesDuex]

Lol. I don't know who this PHam dude is (my apologies for being out of the loop), but it's no great insight -- including my own speculation a few months ago -- that Ryan Johnson is a strong candidate to be traded at the draft if the Sabres don't think he'll re-sign here because of the LD depth and would prefer to go elsewhere.

Ditto for Portillo but I'm a bit less concerned because although we have Levi, we don't have anyone else who's an existing starter or blue chip prospect, and there's the Swedish connection to Dahlin (don't they have a personal or family relationship/familiarity?) and other Swedes on our roster in general. That's why I'm more 60/40 or even better than he'll sign here, relative to Johnson.

p.s. I thought Johnson did indicate he was going back to school, but has that clearly not been stated? At this point, several weeks out from the end of his season, I would be surprised if he had not made a commitment one way or another. And if indeed he has not committed to either signing or returning to school by the draft, that just makes my opinion of his likelihood to be traded skyrocket.

Don't kill the messenger on pham, just repeating what I heard. Has he ever gotten much right ? I still remember when he said Babcock was going to be named coach and Jeff Skinner will never score
30 goals again. I'm sure Howard Simon helps keep him employed at wgr.

He also mentioned Portillo is very involved at Michigan Business School. God forbid these guys are not about smelly hockey gear 24/7.

 

[joshjull]

I don't know how the depth chart wouldn't play a role. At least to me - if I had the option to go to UFA and a team tells me that they have a sure-fire third line LHD spot for me for 82 games - or the Sabres are telling me that they want me to play on my off-hand, it would factor into the equation.

No NHL team is ever going to guarantee a college UFA a spot for 82gms, let alone at the position he wants to play.

You really can't compare Casey Fitzgerald to Ryan Johnson. Not that Johnson is some sure-fire can't miss prospect, but he would have no shortage of suitors if he goes to UFA. Fitzgerald was (and probably still is) a number 7 defenseman at best. I have a very hard time seeing any team telling him that had a job right away in the NHL if he signed. The UFA route just wasn't a realistic option for him, it made sense to sign with the Sabres.

I can compare them because Fitz had more family connections around the NHL than Johnson. He could have gone to free agency, signed with one of them and either played for his dad or with one of his cousins.

Not sure where you got the idea NHL teams don‘t sign college UFAs as organizational depth. Its the most common reason they get signed. The higher end free agents are the rare outliers.

The irony of course is Johnson’s one family connection to the NHL is the LA Kings. A team with a pool of young dmen/prospects that would make it tougher for him there than in Buffalo.

Personally, I don't think I'm looking too hard to find reasons he won't sign, but if you compile all the reasons we have so far it's hard to say it sounds likely. Overall though - I'm getting the sense that you and I will have a hard time agreeing on most Sabres topics. You're much more of a glass-half-full kind of guy. While I have no problem praising moves I support, I'll be the first to admit that I have a very critical stance of our current ownership and management, and until I see a reason to not have that any longer it'll probably stay the same. It doesn't mean your points aren't valid, but we're just probably not going to agree.

You’re misunderstanding my point. I’m not arguing he wont leave. I’m arguing if he does it won’t be for the wildly speculative theories you're putting forth.

The reasons are usually fairly simple and straight forward. They either never wanted to play for the team that drafted them, it was their plan all along to go to free agency no matter who drafted them (Vesey) or they had a handful of organizations they would prefer to be a part of.

 

[Chainshot]

Lol. I don't know who this PHam dude is (my apologies for being out of the loop), but it's no great insight -- including my own speculation a few months ago -- that Ryan Johnson is a strong candidate to be traded at the draft if the Sabres don't think he'll re-sign here because of the LD depth and would prefer to go elsewhere.

Ditto for Portillo but I'm a bit less concerned because although we have Levi, we don't have anyone else who's an existing starter or blue chip prospect, and there's the Swedish connection to Dahlin (don't they have a personal or family relationship/familiarity?) and other Swedes on our roster in general. That's why I'm more 60/40 or even better than he'll sign here, relative to Johnson.

p.s. I thought Johnson did indicate he was going back to school, but has that clearly not been stated? At this point, several weeks out from the end of his season, I would be surprised if he had not made a commitment one way or another. And if indeed he has not committed to either signing or returning to school by the draft, that just makes my opinion of his likelihood to be traded skyrocket.

PHam = GR beat reporter Paul Hamilton.

Johnson indicated he is returning to Minnesota as did a bunch of his teammates like Knies and Lacombe. Then a couple others put themselves in the transfer portal (Broz, Perbix, Sorenson up front, a couple of seniors moving on to "grad school" seasons, their backup who didn't play in net). I'm interested to see who shows up for the prospect camp in July. If he or any of the other collegiate guys are no-shows, that'll be telling. Portillo was at the last one they held - heck, my son had a conversation with him because he was surprised by all of the people there to watch drills and he told him "get used to it".

 

[Dex]

To add to that, Minny didn't lose much in terms of their top guys outside of Meyers and have one of the best incoming freshman classes. They've got a real shot at the championship next year. I'm sure that factored into Johnson, Faber and LaCombe's decision.

Not to mention the big time college hockey atmosphere, the fantastic facilities they have, and of course the education and college degree that they (Johnson, Faber, and Lacombe) will earn.

Here's a short video of the Golden Gophers' hockey facility. Not too shabby.

Golden Gophers' Hockey Facility

You're only young once....... I can see the attraction of all of the above.

 

[RefsIdeas]

No NHL team is ever going to guarantee a college UFA a spot for 82gms, let alone at the position he wants to play.

I can compare them because Fitz had more family connections around the NHL than Johnson. He could have gone to free agency, signed with one of them and either played for his dad or with one of his cousins.

Not sure where you got the idea NHL teams don‘t sign college UFAs as organizational depth. Its the most common reason they get signed. The higher end free agents are the rare outliers.

The irony of course is Johnson’s one family connection to the NHL is the LA Kings. A team with a pool of young dmen/prospects that would make it tougher for him there than in Buffalo.


You’re misunderstanding my point. I’m not arguing he wont leave. I’m arguing if he does it won’t be for the wildly speculative theories you're putting forth.

The reasons are usually fairly simple and straight forward. They either never wanted to play for the team that drafted them, it was their plan all along to go to free agency no matter who drafted them (Vesey) or they had a handful of organizations they would prefer to be a part of.

I don't even know where to start with this.

Of course an NHL team wouldn't guarantee all 82 games for a college UFA. They could very well say "we'll let you start on the third D-pairing and see how it goes". He can play there until he can prove he does or doesn't.

Obviously NHL teams sign college UFA's as depth - but they don't tend to get from a wide pool of teams to sign from. How many teams do you think would really be vying for Casey Fitzgerald as a college UFA? You misunderstood my point there.

Oh yes the LA Kings - where they have a shortage of LHD and a surplus of RHD, and happen to have Faber in their prospect pool. It's a match made in heaven for the two and you say it's "tougher for him there than Buffalo" - dear lord.

"Wildly speculative theories" - are you serious? I try and look at things from a standpoint of the player. It's not like I'm out here pushing conspiracy theories. I even tried to level with you and just say we're not going to see eye-to-eye on this and you'll go out and say that? Take a second and put yourself in Ryan Johnson's shoes. You're talking with your advisor about your best route going forward. You don't think the conversation comes up about where you fit in their lineup long-term? That's wildly speculative? Literally look at the posts right after mine of posters saying that Portillo might not want to sign due to organizational depth - where's your beef with those posts? It's wild to think that Johnson might not want to sign because he wouldn't want to play on his off-hand? You do realize that most NHL coaches are reluctant to play defenseman on their off-hand for extended periods of time, right? It may happen for a season or two, but very rarely does it happen for a players entire career. Do you think it's easy to just swap from left to right after playing one the majority of your career?

 

[Ehran]

Not to mention the big time college hockey atmosphere, the fantastic facilities they have, and of course the education and college degree that they (Johnson, Faber, and Lacombe) will earn.

Here's a short video of the Golden Gophers' hockey facility. Not too shabby.

Golden Gophers' Hockey Facility

You're only young once....... I can see the attraction of all of the above.

Dang! That looks better than what I've seen of the Sabres facilities !

 

[jmelm]

PHam = GR beat reporter Paul Hamilton.

Johnson indicated he is returning to Minnesota as did a bunch of his teammates like Knies and Lacombe. Then a couple others put themselves in the transfer portal (Broz, Perbix, Sorenson up front, a couple of seniors moving on to "grad school" seasons, their backup who didn't play in net). I'm interested to see who shows up for the prospect camp in July. If he or any of the other collegiate guys are no-shows, that'll be telling. Portillo was at the last one they held - heck, my son had a conversation with him because he was surprised by all of the people there to watch drills and he told him "get used to it".

Yeah, I thought Johnson had indicated he was going back, but I guess someone raising the question again made me wonder if I was remembering correctly.

Good point about whether he's at development camp. There should be no reason why he's not, so agreed that it would be telling. Still, I would hope the Sabres have some insight into his thoughts & plans and wonder if they'll explore a trade at the draft if they have serious doubts he'll sign.

 

[joshjull]

I still don't think Johnson has even committed to return to Minny yet either. Last I had heard of it was that he was still trying to decide but was leaning toward returning.

Thats true.

Its a tough decision. I know we look at the money involved and getting started on a pro career as a great incentive. But staying in school with one of the best teams in the nation reloaded for another run is pretty appealing. Plus the great facilitates at Minny and the college experience in general sounds more enjoyable than the grind of the AHL.

 

[Archie Lee]

No NHL team is ever going to guarantee a college UFA a spot for 82gms, let alone at the position he wants to play.

I can compare them because Fitz had more family connections around the NHL than Johnson. He could have gone to free agency, signed with one of them and either played for his dad or with one of his cousins.

Not sure where you got the idea NHL teams don‘t sign college UFAs as organizational depth. Its the most common reason they get signed. The higher end free agents are the rare outliers.

The irony of course is Johnson’s one family connection to the NHL is the LA Kings. A team with a pool of young dmen/prospects that would make it tougher for him there than in Buffalo.


You’re misunderstanding my point. I’m not arguing he wont leave. I’m arguing if he does it won’t be for the wildly speculative theories you're putting forth.

The reasons are usually fairly simple and straight forward. They either never wanted to play for the team that drafted them, it was their plan all along to go to free agency no matter who drafted them (Vesey) or they had a handful of organizations they would prefer to be a part of.

I think family connections can work against a player as much as for. Some teams are likely to actively avoid signing/drafting players who have family connections to others on the team. The perception of preferential treatment might be a concern. Also, if one family member is demoted, cut, fired, benched it perhaps has the potential to cause disharmony.

If Johnson returns to college this year, and all indications are that he will, then he will be 22 years old in the fall of 2023 when he goes to his first NHL camp as a signed player. There is no question in my mind that part of his decision process will be picking a team where he is likely, if not 100% guaranteed, to slide directly into the NHL line-up.

 

[jmelm]

I think family connections can work against a player as much as for. Some teams are likely to actively avoid signing/drafting players who have family connections to others on the team. The perception of preferential treatment might be a concern. Also, if one family member is demoted, cut, fired, benched it perhaps has the potential to cause disharmony.

If Johnson returns to college this year, and all indications are that he will, then he will be 22 years old in the fall of 2023 when he goes to his first NHL camp as a signed player. There is no question in my mind that part of his decision process will be picking a team where he is likely, if not 100% guaranteed, to slide directly into the NHL line-up.

I have mentioned before as a quesiton I've started to ponder: are some of these college kids thinking that an extra year (or two) in college may allow them to bypass the AHL altogether? If so, this may explain why so many may be returning instead of turning pro now.

I know the AHL is a major step up in quality from the NCAA, and also in terms of a pro schedule. Having said that, it's still the case that a college player playing that extra year or two means they're one year older, more experienced, more games under their belt and more physically developed in a way that may allow them to bypass the AHL.

This only works for the top prospects because the lower tier guys will still need seasoning, but the 1st & 2nd round type of prospects can probably fairly safely take this path and step in as a 3rd pairing D or bottom 6 F and work their way up from there.

Just a theory, I have no idea if I'm right, but it could explain a lot of these decisions by a lot of players on various teams who are clearly ready to turn pro yet are returning to school.

 

[joshjull]

I don't even know where to start with this.

Of course an NHL team wouldn't guarantee all 82 games for a college UFA. They could very well say "we'll let you start on the third D-pairing and see how it goes". He can play there until he can prove he does or doesn't.

Thats more realitic but I still don’t see a team gifting him a roster spot. Maybe tell him there is spot for you if you earn it in camp. I think he most likely starts in the AHL no matter where he signs.

Obviously NHL teams sign college UFA's as depth - but they don't tend to get from a wide pool of teams to sign from. How many teams do you think would really be vying for Casey Fitzgerald as a college UFA? You misunderstood my point there.

They don’t need a wide pool to decide to leave via free agency. They just need some and Fitz would easily have that. He could have left in free agency and gone to one of a couple different organizations to play with his cousins or for his dad.

The point being if family matters as much as you feel it does. Fitzgerald had a lot more family around the league to pull him into free agency than Johnson does. I‘d argue having a chance to play with one of your cousins is a lot more appealing than playing for a team your dad happens to be connected to.

Oh yes the LA Kings - where they have a shortage of LHD and a surplus of RHD, and happen to have Faber in their prospect pool. It's a match made in heaven for the two and you say it's "tougher for him there than Buffalo" - dear lord.

LA has more than a few LHD prospects. Thats what I’m referencing in terms of battling to make the roster. The need LHD for the NHL roster and they are a playoff team. They're not going to view Johnson as an option for one of those spots. So he’ll be battling with the other prospects to be in the mix.

"Wildly speculative theories" - are you serious? I try and look at things from a standpoint of the player. It's not like I'm out here pushing conspiracy theories. I even tried to level with you and just say we're not going to see eye-to-eye on this and you'll go out and say that? Take a second and put yourself in Ryan Johnson's shoes. You're talking with your advisor about your best route going forward. You don't think the conversation comes up about where you fit in their lineup long-term? That's wildly speculative? Literally look at the posts right after mine of posters saying that Portillo might not want to sign due to organizational depth - where's your beef with those posts? It's wild to think that Johnson might not want to sign because he wouldn't want to play on his off-hand? You do realize that most NHL coaches are reluctant to play defenseman on their off-hand for extended periods of time, right? It may happen for a season or two, but very rarely does it happen for a players entire career. Do you think it's easy to just swap from left to right after playing one the majority of your career?

Its pretty funny you didn’t like me describing your ideas as wildly speculative and then proceed to go down another rabbit hole. This time about handedness.

Your handiness argument is making a lot of assumptions and acting as if they are facts.

1) Why are you assuming our head coach would care about keeping players away from their offside? Our head coach doesn’t care about it when making pairs.
2) Why would you assume Johnson has to play the right side, let alone for a season or two?
3)Why are you assuming he would even care about playing the right side if it workers out that way?

Johnson is a talented enough player that he could end up either as our 3rd left side dman or battle Joker for 2nd right side dman. That seems like an awful lot of opportunity on our roster for him going forward.


As for Portillo, like Johnson he has opportunity in front of him. He has a wide open goalie situation with only two other goalies to battle (UPL/Levi) and is years away from being in the NHL. He only needs to beat out one to be on the NHL roster.

These guys are highly competitive athletes. Yet you and others describe them as guys afraid of competition. That they want things handed to them or they’ll take their ball and go home.

 

[joshjull]

I think family connections can work against a player as much as for. Some teams are likely to actively avoid signing/drafting players who have family connections to others on the team. The perception of preferential treatment might be a concern. Also, if one family member is demoted, cut, fired, benched it perhaps has the potential to cause disharmony.

I don’t think the family thing is definitive either way. Its just as likely a dad working for a NHL team would frown on his son bolting from the team that drafted him.

I only used Fitz as an example of a player who had a lot of family around the league that in theory could have pulled him into free agency. Obviously it didn’t.

If Johnson returns to college this year, and all indications are that he will, then he will be 22 years old in the fall of 2023 when he goes to his first NHL camp as a signed player. There is no question in my mind that part of his decision process will be picking a team where he is likely, if not 100% guaranteed, to slide directly into the NHL line-up.

Maybe.

 

[RefsIdeas]

Thats more realitic but I still don’t see a team gifting him a roster spot. Maybe tell him there is spot for you if you earn it in camp. I think he most likely starts in the AHL no matter where he signs.


They don’t need a wide pool to decide to leave via free agency. They just need some and Fitz would easily have that. He could have left in free agency and gone to one of a couple different organizations to play with his cousins or for his dad.

The point being if family matters as much as you feel it does. Fitzgerald had a lot more family around the league to pull him into free agency than Johnson does. I‘d argue having a chance to play with one of your cousins is a lot more appealing than playing for a team your dad happens to be connected to.


LA has more than a few LHD prospects. Thats what I’m referencing in terms of battling to make the roster. The need LHD for the NHL roster and they are a playoff team. They're not going to view Johnson as an option for one of those spots. So he’ll be battling with the other prospects to be in the mix.


Its pretty funny you didn’t like me describing your ideas as wildly speculative and then proceed to go down another rabbit hole. This time about handedness.

Your handiness argument is making a lot of assumptions and acting as if they are facts.

1) Why are you assuming our head coach would care about keeping players away from their offside? Our head coach doesn’t care about it when making pairs.
2) Why would you assume Johnson has to play the right side, let alone for a season or two?
3)Why are you assuming he would even care about playing the right side if it workers out that way?

Johnson is a talented enough player that he could end up either as our 3rd left side dman or battle Joker for 2nd right side dman. That seems like an awful lot of opportunity on our roster for him going forward.


As for Portillo, like Johnson he has opportunity in front of him. He has a wide open goalie situation with only two other goalies to battle (UPL/Levi) and is years away from being in the NHL. He only needs to beat out one to be on the NHL roster.

These guys are highly competitive athletes. Yet you and others describe them as guys afraid of competition. That they want things handed to them or they’ll take their ball and go home.

How about you go do some more research before posting stuff like this? Go research the Kings roster. Ask people on their board their future at LHD vs RHD.

Do some research about players playing on their off-hand for extended periods of time. Do some research on why NHL coaches tend to not do that. Show me the list of players in the past 20 years that have done it for the majority of their career (spoiler: the list is very small).

Before you call something “wildly speculative” it would help if you actually knew what you were talking about.

 

[Chainshot]

Yeah, I thought Johnson had indicated he was going back, but I guess someone raising the question again made me wonder if I was remembering correctly.

Good point about whether he's at development camp. There should be no reason why he's not, so agreed that it would be telling. Still, I would hope the Sabres have some insight into his thoughts & plans and wonder if they'll explore a trade at the draft if they have serious doubts he'll sign.

From what Adams has said and then various collegiate players like Johnson and Portillo too have indicated is that they are in regular and constructive communication.

 

[flashsabre]

I have mentioned before as a quesiton I've started to ponder: are some of these college kids thinking that an extra year (or two) in college may allow them to bypass the AHL altogether? If so, this may explain why so many may be returning instead of turning pro now.

I know the AHL is a major step up in quality from the NCAA, and also in terms of a pro schedule. Having said that, it's still the case that a college player playing that extra year or two means they're one year older, more experienced, more games under their belt and more physically developed in a way that may allow them to bypass the AHL.

This only works for the top prospects because the lower tier guys will still need seasoning, but the 1st & 2nd round type of prospects can probably fairly safely take this path and step in as a 3rd pairing D or bottom 6 F and work their way up from there.

Just a theory, I have no idea if I'm right, but it could explain a lot of these decisions by a lot of players on various teams who are clearly ready to turn pro yet are returning to school.

During the Frozen Four tournament, the announcer, John buccigross, who is really connected to college hockey said while talking about Levi: “Why sign and ride the buses in the AHL when he can stay in school and develop here.” I don’t think it was an off the cuff comment. I think it is a new mentality within the college hockey world as a lot of young talented players are returning for another year of college.

 

[SundherDome]

Is the NCAA not allowing players to sign contracts and then go back due to signing bonus money? If so, that should be moot with NIL running wild

 

[Chainshot]

Is the NCAA not allowing players to sign contracts and then go back due to signing bonus money? If so, that should be moot with NIL running wild

You can not maintain your NCAA eligibility if you sign a professional contract.

 

[SundherDome]

During the Frozen Four tournament, the announcer, John buccigross, who is really connected to college hockey said while talking about Levi: “Why sign and ride the buses in the AHL when he can stay in school and develop here.” I don’t think it was an off the cuff comment. I think it is a new mentality within the college hockey world as a lot of young talented players are returning for another year of college.

It seemed very off cuff when referencing the person saying it. Bucci gives off the frat guy that got a job and just wants to go back to college. Levi gave up a chance at a pro starting gig, some decent money in the bank and possibly a shot at some NHL games given our goalie injury streak.

If he did it to go back and play in the bean pot and get a shot at the Hobey, then by all means. To use the context of riding a bus and playing in the pros as a deterrent is weird since they ride a bus and don't get paid in NCAA.

You can not maintain your NCAA eligibility if you sign a professional contract.

I get that but "why" is my question. Was it do to the signing bonus counting as compensation?

 

[Chainshot]

It seemed very off cuff when referencing the person saying it. Bucci gives off the frat guy that got a job and just wants to go back to college. Levi gave up a chance at a pro starting gig, some decent money in the bank and possibly a shot at some NHL games given our goalie injury streak.

If he did it to go back and play in the bean pot and get a shot at the Hobey, then by all means. To use the context of riding a bus and playing in the pros as a deterrent is weird since they ride a bus and don't get paid in NCAA.


I get that but "why" is my question. Was it do to the signing bonus counting as compensation?

Yes, it is being paid by a professional team. The NCAA likes to think of itself as an amateur organization so that's one of the games they play where only the NCAA gets to make buckets of money on their athletes (well, up to the recent licensing stuff changed).

 

[SundherDome]

Yes, it is being paid by a professional team. The NCAA likes to think of itself as an amateur organization so that's one of the games they play where only the NCAA gets to make buckets of money on their athletes (well, up to the recent licensing stuff changed).

So with the NIL, shouldn't this be moot or is it still just a dick swinging contest

 

[Gras]

So with the NIL, shouldn't this be moot or is it still just a dick swinging contest

Im sure things would change if the NCAA got a cut of the pro contract.