First Shift 🏒
Johnston is on a roll.
The versatile forward has 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists) in his past three games and leads the team with 9 goals on the season. He is second behind Rantanen with 17 points in 14 games.
That might seem strange for a player who is just 22, but Johnston is a special player. He started in the NHL at age 19 and already has 260 regular season games under his belt. He’s on pace to beat last year’s career high of 71 points, and he has been indispensable with both Duchene and Roope Hintz missing recent games with injuries.
“When you play the top teams and you notice a young player like that playing up against the other top players, it’s just a tremendous sign,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said after the team went 1-0-2 against Tampa Bay, Florida and Edmonton. “We’ve played the Stanley Cup champions and the runners-up in the last couple of games, and I thought he stood out in a real good way.”
Johnston is establishing himself. He has started a new contract that averages $8.4 million per year, and there is some pressure that comes with that. But Johnston has handled things well.
“I see him train and work in the offseason, honestly,” teammate Seguin said. “I skate with him in Toronto, and he still has that kid in him that he’s on the ice every day. If he’s not practicing, he’s probably playing in a beer league with buddies or something. He just loves the game. He works hard. He’s got a great head on his shoulders, and he loves the big ones.”
Johnston was given a nice head start when he lived with veteran Joe Pavelski and his family for his first two NHL seasons. In that time, he was able to not only process how Pavelski lived off the ice, but also what he did on it. The veteran forward was a master at tipping pucks, and Johnston has sort of taken over that mantle. On his second goal Thursday, he was in front of the net on a power play and got the deflection.
“That’s always been a staple here,” Johnston said. “That started with Pav and I think that’s something he passed on to all of us. A lot of us played with him for a while and we all got to see how valuable that can be.”
Johnston is an astute player, and he picks things up quickly. In addition to having some good teachers, he also has been a great student, and that’s one of the reasons he’s on a roll right now.
“He has that one thing we’re talking about, his hockey IQ – and he’s got the skill level to do it,” Gulutzan said. “But for me, with him, it’s just his competitiveness in his battle level, and his sense. I talk with a lot of hockey coaches over the years, and if you’ve got an NHL-type player, give me competitiveness and give me sense. I’ll take that all day long, and that’s what he has.”
