Ryan Johnson didn’t seem to have anywhere to go with the puck. Yet, as Pittsburgh Penguins winger Matt Nieto closed in on the Buffalo Sabres’ defenseman, Johnson spun to his right to avoid a hit, then carried the puck toward the net before firing a shot on goalie Tristan Jarry.
It was the latest of many exceptional plays that Johnson has made since arriving in Buffalo for rookie camp more than two weeks ago. He seemingly finds a way to make something out of nothing when he has the puck.
And though Johnson’s latest outstanding performance wasn’t enough to help the Sabres defeat a stacked Penguins lineup Thursday night in a 3-1 loss at Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena, he was again one of Buffalo’s standouts in preseason action.
“I’m just having fun and enjoying it,” the 21-year-old defenseman said in the visitors’ dressing room after he led the Sabres in ice time with 24:16. “That’s the big thing. I’m just trying to enjoy it and stay focused as well. I feel confident, which is great. I think I’m just enjoying it. That’s the major component. I’m not putting so much pressure on myself.”
Johnson’s move on Nieto was the second time in as many days that he showed how elusive he can be when trying to help the Sabres create offense. He fooled multiple Toronto Maple Leafs with a drive to the net Wednesday night at the Kraft Hockeyville exhibition in St. Thomas, Ontario. Johnson, a first-round draft pick in 2019, collected the puck near the blue line when it ricocheted off a skate, tucked it between his legs to get around a defender and avoided another close to net before spinning toward the slot to fire a pass that almost connected with Aleksandr Kisakov.
The offensive prowess isn’t the only way that Johnson has impressed Sabres coach Don Granato. Johnson has shown through three preseason games that he used his four years at the University of Minnesota to become a reliable defender. Skating has always been one of Johnson’s strengths. It was one of the traits that convinced former general manager Jason Botterill to draft Johnson with the 31st pick in the draft when he was only 17 years old.
Experience and coaching taught Johnson to use his skating to quickly close on the puck-carrier to kill a play. Johnson’s work through the preseason has shown why he was used by Minnesota as a shutdown defenseman last season. He used his stick in the third period Thursday to stop a 2-on-1 with Alex Nylander and Austin Wagner.
“Even in between periods, you speak to certain individuals and say, ‘Hey, here’s an adjustment you can make,’ and sit back as a coach and watch how fast they can actually make that adjustment,” said Granato. “Obviously, the more talented guys can make that immediately. Some guys need a couple practices or even longer, but RJ has shown lots of acclimation through this camp and tonight was another good test for him and I thought he did very well.
This wasn’t against a prospect-laiden lineup, either. Most of Johnson’s 5-on-5 ice time was against Sidney Crosby’s line, which included Bryan Rust and Rickard Rackell. The Penguins’ lineup resembled what many expect them to ice on opening night, led by Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson.
Rackell scored on a one-timer in the second period before Tage Thompson tied it with a highlight-reel display of stickhandling to fool Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry for a goal. O’Connor scored twice, including an empty-netter, to help Pittsburgh pull away, but it was the first time in the preseason that it was possible to measure prospects against top competition. Johnson passed with flying colors.
The Sabres are in a far different spot now than a year ago. Prospects like Johnson face long odds to make the team, especially on defense where the club has eight experienced options on one-way contracts. He has yet to play a professional regular-season game, plus there are multiple defensemen on two-way contracts that are also trying to show management that they can help in Buffalo. The reality is that Granato only has a spot or two available and it’s unlikely that either is on defense. Development is an organizational priority, but the Sabres are prioritizing winning above all else.
“It’s changed dramatically,” Granato said when asked about competition in camp. “We know and expect to win. And even though we’ve talked about developmety and how much young guys are going to progress, the bottom line is we know we can win hockey games now. We need to have that as a focus.”
budboomer
Johnson has looked really good. He’s had a few moments where he’s appeared to be a little surprised by the speed of the pro game, but overall he’s looked very steady. I think he still starts the year in Rochester, but I think he sees some time with the Sabres before the end of the season.
PrimasChickenTacos
Regarding backup goalie: do we think this is a real competition? If Comrie continues to look better than UPL this preseason, do they carry three goalies to avoid putting UPL on waivers? I’ll be honest, I have more faith in Comrie than I do UPL at this point, but I understand not wanting to just waive a youngish goaltender that has been in the organization so long.
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Ryan Johnson didn’t seem to have anywhere to go with the puck. Yet, as Pittsburgh Penguins winger Matt Nieto closed in on the Buffalo Sabres’ defenseman, Johnson spun to his right to avoid a hit, then carried the puck toward the net before firing a shot on goalie Tristan Jarry.
It was the latest of many exceptional plays that Johnson has made since arriving in Buffalo for rookie camp more than two weeks ago. He seemingly finds a way to make something out of nothing when he has the puck.
And though Johnson’s latest outstanding performance wasn’t enough to help the Sabres defeat a stacked Penguins lineup Thursday night in a 3-1 loss at Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena, he was again one of Buffalo’s standouts in preseason action.
“I’m just having fun and enjoying it,” the 21-year-old defenseman said in the visitors’ dressing room after he led the Sabres in ice time with 24:16. “That’s the big thing. I’m just trying to enjoy it and stay focused as well. I feel confident, which is great. I think I’m just enjoying it. That’s the major component. I’m not putting so much pressure on myself.”
Johnson’s move on Nieto was the second time in as many days that he showed how elusive he can be when trying to help the Sabres create offense. He fooled multiple Toronto Maple Leafs with a drive to the net Wednesday night at the Kraft Hockeyville exhibition in St. Thomas, Ontario. Johnson, a first-round draft pick in 2019, collected the puck near the blue line when it ricocheted off a skate, tucked it between his legs to get around a defender and avoided another close to net before spinning toward the slot to fire a pass that almost connected with Aleksandr Kisakov.
The offensive prowess isn’t the only way that Johnson has impressed Sabres coach Don Granato. Johnson has shown through three preseason games that he used his four years at the University of Minnesota to become a reliable defender. Skating has always been one of Johnson’s strengths. It was one of the traits that convinced former general manager Jason Botterill to draft Johnson with the 31st pick in the draft when he was only 17 years old.
Experience and coaching taught Johnson to use his skating to quickly close on the puck-carrier to kill a play. Johnson’s work through the preseason has shown why he was used by Minnesota as a shutdown defenseman last season. He used his stick in the third period Thursday to stop a 2-on-1 with Alex Nylander and Austin Wagner.
“Even in between periods, you speak to certain individuals and say, ‘Hey, here’s an adjustment you can make,’ and sit back as a coach and watch how fast they can actually make that adjustment,” said Granato. “Obviously, the more talented guys can make that immediately. Some guys need a couple practices or even longer, but RJ has shown lots of acclimation through this camp and tonight was another good test for him and I thought he did very well.
This wasn’t against a prospect-laiden lineup, either. Most of Johnson’s 5-on-5 ice time was against Sidney Crosby’s line, which included Bryan Rust and Rickard Rackell. The Penguins’ lineup resembled what many expect them to ice on opening night, led by Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson.
Rackell scored on a one-timer in the second period before Tage Thompson tied it with a highlight-reel display of stickhandling to fool Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry for a goal. O’Connor scored twice, including an empty-netter, to help Pittsburgh pull away, but it was the first time in the preseason that it was possible to measure prospects against top competition. Johnson passed with flying colors.
The Sabres are in a far different spot now than a year ago. Prospects like Johnson face long odds to make the team, especially on defense where the club has eight experienced options on one-way contracts. He has yet to play a professional regular-season game, plus there are multiple defensemen on two-way contracts that are also trying to show management that they can help in Buffalo. The reality is that Granato only has a spot or two available and it’s unlikely that either is on defense. Development is an organizational priority, but the Sabres are prioritizing winning above all else.
“It’s changed dramatically,” Granato said when asked about competition in camp. “We know and expect to win. And even though we’ve talked about developmety and how much young guys are going to progress, the bottom line is we know we can win hockey games now. We need to have that as a focus.”
Johnson has looked really good. He’s had a few moments where he’s appeared to be a little surprised by the speed of the pro game, but overall he’s looked very steady. I think he still starts the year in Rochester, but I think he sees some time with the Sabres before the end of the season.
Regarding backup goalie: do we think this is a real competition? If Comrie continues to look better than UPL this preseason, do they carry three goalies to avoid putting UPL on waivers? I’ll be honest, I have more faith in Comrie than I do UPL at this point, but I understand not wanting to just waive a youngish goaltender that has been in the organization so long.