November 27, 2011; St. Louis Blues defenseman Barret Jackman (5) slides to stick the puck away from Columbus Blue Jackets center Ryan Johansen (19) at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russell LaBounty-US PRESSWIRE
After the last post re 20 goal forwards for Columbus and the possible effect the centers have on the forward’s goal production. I got to thinking a little more about the Blue Jackets young center. Early on last year, Ryan was paired with Vinny Prospal on the 2nd line. While I contend that Prospal makes his linemates better, Ryan was just a newbie, rookie and had just turned 19. If you recall, he had some early success including 3 GWG, which at that time was about all the games the Blue Jackets had won. He was playing mostly right wing at this time. Which was out of his natural and experienced position.
Let’s go back to his Junior hockey days and take a look at how he did as a center for his teams.
Just to keep things in perspective, he would have been 16 years old when playing for the Penticton Vees. [note he had 4 goals in the playoffs after the season's experience and as he had gotten older]
Looking at his 17 and 18 year old seasons with the Portland Winterhawks, we can see that he not only knows how to score, but he can dish the puck as well.
2009-2010 season, 17 years old   .35 goals/game .62 assists/game =.97 points/game
2010-2011 season, 18 years old   .63 goals/game .84 assists/game =1.47 points/game
Since his birthday is July 31, he just turned 20 a few days ago. His frame is still growing. We have been told he has bulked up [prospect camp] but does not seem to have lost speed. He certainly has only a smattering of NHL experience and even less at his center position. He will still be a boy in a men’s game, but this year the boy is coming more prepared. The above statistics show you why he was drafted as #4 overall by the Blue Jackets.
Realizing that the Winterhawks were a powerhouse team, his numbers could be a little inflated. But if you look at the playoff statistics as well, where they were playing top notch competition, you can see the numbers do not drop off the table.
If he ups his game in his 2nd NHL year he could be the factor in making the Blue Jackets better that has been a little overlooked.
We Want the Cup
Retired Engineering Manager. Moved to Columbus in 2008. Started following the Blue Jackets and loved it. I wanted more hockey and started following the blogs. I found the blogs had information and ideas faster than the news media. I joined the Fire That Cannon Dec 12,2011 as a writer and on March 25,2012 I accepted the position of editor. I want to improve hockey interest in Columbus by making the blog interesting and positive so it is a integral part of the Blue Jacket Blogging groups.
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