Rumor: Ryan Johnson to sign with buffalo

[DarthEbriate]

1 hour ago, pi2000 said:

ceiling Jokiharju
floor Fedun

Fedun's an odd comparable as an undrafted player against 2 first-round picks.

The question is: What is Jokiharju's ceiling? 

I still see an inconsistent 23 year-old who occasionally looks solid, occasionally gets feisty after the whistle (more last season than this season), occasionally makes beautiful stretch passes, and also gets overpowered, caught looking in his own zone, and flat-footed on the opposition's blue line. But then, Brian Campbell was inconsistent (and sometimes an outright hot mess) until he was 26. Joker has been pushed into a top-4 role because the lack of depth around him forced him to be, but I see a player who can become a top-4 still. And all the better if he only needs to be a 5 because he's got a bunch of stars above him.

[Carmel Corn]

32 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

Johnson is an exceptional skater. He uses his skating, positioning and smarts to play a smart defensive game and move the puck. He can hold his own in the offensive zone but is not an offensive dynamo. He is not a banger. He is just a solid all around defencemen who isn’t flashy, won’t stand out but will have a long, solid career as a number 4 to 6. He will be a good signing and should play with Dahlin, Muel and Power for a long time.

 

I really hope he signs with Buffalo.  He seems like an immediate improvement over Bryson or Clague.  It would also help me overcome my pessimism of drafting college players that choose to decline signing with us.  Levi's signing really helps me be more confident about college kids.

[dudacek]

4 minutes ago, Carmel Corn said:

I really hope he signs with Buffalo.  He seems like an immediate improvement over Bryson or Clague.  It would also help me overcome my pessimism of drafting college players that choose to decline signing with us.  Levi's signing really helps me be more confident about college kids.

I’m not sure of Johnson’s ceiling or how long it will take him to get there, but I would be surprised if he’s not as good or better than Bryson right now.

 

[Derrico]

43 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

Johnson is an exceptional skater. He uses his skating, positioning and smarts to play a smart defensive game and move the puck. He can hold his own in the offensive zone but is not an offensive dynamo. He is not a banger. He is just a solid all around defencemen who isn’t flashy, won’t stand out but will have a long, solid career as a number 4 to 6. He will be a good signing and should play with Dahlin, Muel and Power for a long time.

 

Sounds like a Mark Pysyk?

[dudacek]

Just now, Derrico said:

Sounds like a Mark Pysyk?

It’s a comparison I’ve seen a lot.

[DarthEbriate]

32 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

Fedun's an odd comparable as an undrafted player against 2 first-round picks.

15 minutes ago, Derrico said:

Sounds like a Mark Pysyk?

14 minutes ago, dudacek said:

It’s a comparison I’ve seen a lot.

That's a good comparable. Late 1st, <200#, known as a defensive defenseman with wheels.

If Johnson can be a Pysyk --- and early-ish in his career --- that's a great addition. Pysyk was very calming for the kids last season. And had Pysyk re-signed (and not torn his Achilles), he's the #6 this season over Bryson and the defense probably holds together enough to scrape out 2-3 more wins over the course of the season when the D injuries struck because you've got a cagey vet instead of some combination of Bryson/Clague/Fitz/Stillman all in the game at the same time.

Another hopeful comp would be a Ryan Lindgren.

Edited March 30, 2023 by DarthEbriate

[JohnC]

48 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

Johnson is an exceptional skater. He uses his skating, positioning and smarts to play a smart defensive game and move the puck. He can hold his own in the offensive zone but is not an offensive dynamo. He is not a banger. He is just a solid all around defencemen who isn’t flashy, won’t stand out but will have a long, solid career as a number 4 to 6. He will be a good signing and should play with Dahlin, Muel and Power for a long time.

 

As @pi2000 noted in a post prior to yours the description is suitable to describe Joki. If it turns out to be so, it will be a good pickup. Whether he is slotted to be a 4-6 or 5-7 player, it fills a need and improves the unit. 

[shrader]

Hopefully BU can send him to us 2 days early.

[Weave]

(e5)

[Doohicksie]

9 hours ago, dudacek said:

9 hours ago, Derrico said:

Sounds like a Mark Pysyk?

It’s a comparison I’ve seen a lot.

I think that's just what this D corps needs.

[Buffalonill]

Where are you guys seeing Mark Pysyk? .

His Comparison when drafted was jordan leopold

Edited March 31, 2023 by Buffalonill

[French Collection]

As long as he’s not the defensive version of Peterson or Vesey.

He doesn’t sound like a game changer but an upgrade from Bryson and Clague is an improvement.

[tom webster]

49 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

Where are you guys seeing Mark Pysyk? .

His compassion when drafted was jordan leopold

I spent about thirty seconds thinking of a response to your obvious “typo,” but I got nothing.

[Archie Lee]

There is likely no direct comparable. To me he is a smaller, less physical but better skating Samuelsson. If it works out he will be to Power what Sammy is to Dahlin. The stable defender who lets the more dynamic player do his thing. The Sabres don’t seem overly concerned with left/right when it comes to Power and Dahlin. 

[ddaryl]

12 hours ago, Weave said:

(e5)

Error by the 3rd baseman?

[DarthEbriate]

13 minutes ago, ddaryl said:

Error by the 3rd baseman?

Game of Battleship?    (Miss!)

[MattPie]

3 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

Game of Battleship?    (Miss!)

Petty Officer, Second Class.

[dudacek]

I have not watched him this year, but from what I’ve seen in the past, Johnson’s calling card is his feet; he’s nimble, smooth and agile in a similar way to Bryson.

Physically, he’s more Jokiharju size. His game is calmer and less aggressive than Henri’s but his skill level is on par.

He doesn’t add much in the way of thump or offence but he’s not timid or stone-handed either. He reads the play in both directions and makes good decisions.

What he does well is defend the rush, retrieve dump-ins, beat the forecheck, and get the puck out. At the college level, he is the guy playing against the other team’s best players.

In short, he’s a defensive defenceman built for the modern game.

It will be interesting to see how his game adapts to NHL size and speed, but his upside is to be the reliable support guy on a top 4 pairing. His floor is a bigger Bryson.

It should also be noted that even though he’s a college senior, he’s still only 21

 

[Doohicksie]

3 hours ago, Buffalonill said:

Where are you guys seeing Mark Pysyk? .

His compassion when drafted was jordan leopold

Either way we're good.  The scorer of the Butt Goal versus the scorer of the Wild Scrum Goal.

[Buffalonill]

2 hours ago, tom webster said:

I spent about thirty seconds thinking of a response to your obvious “typo,” but I got nothing.

 Show some compassion its lent.

 

I got nothing

[nfreeman]

I didn't realize, before checking just now, that Minny is ranked #1 in the country and is playing in the Frozen Four this week.  National Semis are Thursday night -- Minny plays BU and Michigan plays Quinnipiac -- and the championship game is Saturday night.

[dudacek]

1 minute ago, nfreeman said:

I didn't realize, before checking just now, that Minny is ranked #1 in the country and is playing in the Frozen Four this week.  National Semis are Thursday night -- Minny plays BU and Michigan plays Quinnipiac -- and the championship game is Saturday night.

i think a lot of people have downgraded or not paid a ton of attention to Johnson, maybe as a defence mechanism against him walking.

He is a co-captain and 1st pairing defenceman on the best team in the country.

The latter is a major reason why he didn't sign last summer.

[Pimlach]

So if he projects to a Fedun, a Pysyk, or a Jokiharju then he plays in Rochester for a few years and is an injury call up.  

Hoping there is more to his game.   

Edited March 31, 2023 by Pimlach

[DarthEbriate]

37 minutes ago, dudacek said:

i think a lot of people have downgraded or not paid a ton of attention to Johnson, maybe as a defence mechanism against him walking.

He is a co-captain and 1st pairing defenceman on the best team in the country.

The latter is a major reason why he didn't sign last summer.

Like Michigan the year before (with Power, Beniers, Kent Johnson, Portillo, etc.) they wanted to have their shot at the title. Ryan Johnson knew this season's Gophers squad was stacked and acted accordingly. And emphasis on the second line...  he's not the glamourous one, but he's on the top pair, leads the team in blocked shots, and is a mainstay of their team. He'll be fine.

34 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

So if he projects to a Fedun, a Pysyk, or a Jokiharju then he plays in Rochester for a few years and is an injury call up.  

Hoping there is more to his game.   

Joki was an NHL regular at age 20 (D+2) and Pysyk at age 24 (stewed a bit in the WHL) -- though it's a bit confusing with him because he'd played 44 games at age 22 and then his age 23 season was a fun mix of a) he and McCabe both starting the season injured, b) the front office being more excited by rookies Ristolainen and Zadorov, and c) the front office being really really more excited in McEichel and icing Benoit and Meszaros as tank commanders.

It could easily be argued the team would have been out of the guarantee of Eichel with a D corps of Myers/Bogo, Gorges, Weber, McCabe, Pysyk, and weave in games from Risto/Zad/Balls/Mesz and Strachan instead of leaving McCabe and Pysyk in Rochester almost all season (9 combined NHL gp). Still a tanking team, but more in the top-5 than in dead last.

tl;dr If he signs, Johnson will get his 2-3 games this year, do a season in the AHL with some callups (during which he could stick), and then should be in the NHL in 2024-25.

[pi2000]

2 hours ago, nfreeman said:

I didn't realize, before checking just now, that Minny is ranked #1 in the country and is playing in the Frozen Four this week.  National Semis are Thursday night -- Minny plays BU and Michigan plays Quinnipiac -- and the championship game is Saturday night.

To clarify, the frozen four concludes next week, Thur 4/6 - Sat 4/8.  

Buffalo's final game in April 14th.   Rochesters final regular season game is the 16th, so I'd image he might get a game or two in Buffalo then head to Roch for the playoffs.