Ryan Johnson wasn’t a pick that was received well by many people and I was among that group. It was the first-round pick from the Ryan O’Reilly trade and it was the second year in a row the Buffalo Sabres picked a low-ceiling defenseman in the top 32.

They had an obvious need at forward and there were a handful of forwards on the board that would have fit nicely in the prospect pool. It is what it is at this point. Johnson is the player that we have to focus on now as part of the Sabres prospect system.

His D+1 season (draft year plus-one) wasn’t anything special as a freshman at the University of Minnesota. The production wasn’t there and he was extremely inconsistent throughout the year.

The good news is that Johnson has taken a big step in his D+2 season. He looks like a different player for the Gophers and was a key member of Team USA’s blue line on their journey to a Gold Medal in the World Juniors.

Defensive Game

When I started tracking and watching Johnson this season in Minnesota, I quickly realized that I undervalued his defensive game. It became apparent that this was the strong point of his game. When he was on the ice, the Gophers didn’t give up a lot of shots against and when they did it wasn’t anything of quality.

In the 12 games that I tracked so far this season, Johnson leads all of the Minnesota defensemen in 5 on 5 shot share. He’s good positionally in the defensive zone and his skating ability allows him to get out of trouble.

His puck-moving enables him to be an important part of the Gopher’s ability to quickly transition from defense to offense.

Johnson ranks second among the Minnesota defensemen in controlled exits in my tracking data. However, you can see how they can be a dangerous transition team with Johnson, Brock Faber (Los Angeles Kings), and Jackson LaCombe (Anaheim Ducks).

This clip below gives you a glimpse at how Johnson is starting scoring plays at one end of the ice and then getting up in the play to finish them at the other end.

The other area of Johnson’s game that helps him play a strong defensive game is his tendency to defend the blue line. What I mean by that is he uses his skating to close down on forwards and prevent entries against. He’s tied for the lead on the team with LaCombe in entry defense in the games that I’ve tracked.

Here’s one example of what I’m referring to below. He closes down on an Ohio State forward in the neutral zone and then chips the puck off the wall to a forward up the ice. The result is a scoring chance with the puck going off the crossbar.

This next clip isn’t an entry defense but gives you a look at his aggressiveness in the neutral zone. It also shows off his impressive skating talent. He’s flatfooted at the offensive blue line with an Ohio State forward rushing towards him. Most defenders would be in trouble here, but Johnson recovers with strong crossovers and then attacks the puck to regain possession.

His defensive ability is what made him a key member of Team USA’s roster in the World Juniors. His coach gained confidence in him throughout the tournament and his ice time increased. He was one of the players that were on the ice a lot in the final 10 minutes of the Gold Medal game to close it out against Canada.

Offensive Impact

The area that has improved the most this season for Johnson is his offensive impact. It’s not so much that it’s resulting in points. While he has matched his freshman season point total (8) in only 16 games, it’s the willingness to be a part of the offense.

He’s jumping in the play more on the rush and is carrying the puck down low in the offensive zone. This has resulted in Johnson running away with the lead on the Gophers blue line in primary shot contributions at 5 on 5.

It hasn’t resulted in a ton of actual points, but he was nearly a point per game player before he left the Gophers to join Team USA. He’s had some on-ice luck issues that have kept him off the score sheet.

The points are not what I’m worried about with Johnson. He’s not going to be a big point producer at the next level. What he can be is a player that creates space in the offensive zone. He can keep a play alive with his skating ability or attack the net from the blue line, which will pull defenders to his side of the ice.

Let’s look at a few video clips to show you what I mean. This first one is just an impressive display of Johnson skating around the defensive zone using his edges to maintain possession. If not for a hold at the end of the play he may have created a prime scoring opportunity.

This next clip comes from the World Juniors. He attacks the net after a faceoff and receives a pass from Trevor Zegras. Johnson then snaps his only goal of the tournament by the Swedish goaltender.

🚨🇺🇸 Ryan Johnson goes for a walk with the puck and let’s it go straight into the back of the @Trekronorse net. @usahockey now up 3-0. #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/M3cvP2jKCA

— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) January 1, 2021

Outlook

Johnson looks like a modern-day defensive-defenseman. He’s not going to be a player that produces a lot of points at the NHL level. What he can do is possibly be a top-four defenseman that will be sound in his own and could be a key player in transition.

A lot of people have mentioned the idea of Johnson turning into a better skating version of Jake McCabe. I don’t think that’s far off as an NHL comparison.

We’ll see what the Sabres decide to do with Johnson after this season. They brought Mattias Samuelsson into the pro level after his sophomore season at Western Michigan. They may have a similar plan for Johnson.

Photo Credit: Codie McLachlan/Getty Images