Johnson is an undersized yet cerebral offensive player who was able to create advantages for himself by reading and reacting off his teammates. He’s a very intelligent off-puck player who always seems to find himself open in the offensive zone or jumping on loose pucks as soon as they present themselves in the slot area. He possesses the tools to make skilled plays along the perimeter as well, utilizing quick burst of acceleration to explode from a standstill and separate from defenders to extend his possession time. He’s a quick processor of the game who’s able to turn his puck touches into scoring chances quickly by scanning prior and making immediate passes to open options.

It was mostly a quiet showing for Johnson throughout the tournament before an excellent performance in the gold medal game reinvigorated my belief in him as a legitimate QMJHL prospect. At his best he was utilizing his foot speed to be all over the offensive zone, winning plenty of races to loose pucks that lead to him generating his own puck touches along the perimeter and use his processing ability to distribute the puck quickly to teammates. His intelligent off-puck play allowed him to get looks from the inside by bouncing in and out of the soft spots in defensive zone coverage to make himself a passing option. I came away quite impressed with his shooting mechanics as well, as he demonstrated a catch and release technique that allowed him to get pucks off his stick quickly.

Johnson was a player who just continued to get better and better as the camp went on, ultimately turning into one of my favorite players at the entire event. His high-end skating and stickhandling made him difficult to contain as he sped through the neutral zone carving through defenders and gaining the offensive blueline. The playmaking off the rush was another huge positive in Johnson’s game as he demonstrated the ability to thread saucer passes through traffic that would land right onto the tape of a teammate. Johnson was quite elusive along the perimeter in the offensive zone, using quick cuts and pivots to pull away from pressure, extend his time with the puck and either execute passes to the slot or leverage his puck skills to deke through defenders and gain access to the middle of the ice. Off-puck he was using his foot speed to get in on defenders quickly, force turnovers and look to create his own luck by generating his own puck touches and looking to create off of forced errors. He really earned his spot on the final roster and I look forward to watching him grow and develop throughout the year.

Johnson chose a good time to have his best game of the tournament, flashing some really high-end off-puck play and processing ability with the puck on his stick. He did a great job of getting himself to the middle of the ice throughout the game, weaving in and out of defensive coverage to keep defenders guessing before getting a quick shot off from the interior. In the offensive zone he constantly had his head on a swivel, always pre-planning his puck touches so he could execute quick one touch passes to the slot area before the defenders could react.

As Johnson’s confidence grew throughout this game you really started to see the dynamic traits and skill level that make him one of the more intriguing prospects out of Nova Scotia this year. I liked how in the first period when he wasn’t getting a ton of puck touches he was still using his foot speed to pressure opposing defenders, both at even strength and on the penalty kill, and also to win foot races to loose pucks in the offensive zone looking to create his own possession time. Once the puck touches started to come more frequently, he became extremely difficult to contain and began driving play for Team Red. Off the rush he was executing really difficult saucer passes through sticks that somehow got to their intended target, which in turn made defenders respect the pass and opened up room for him as a shooter. His skill level really shone through in the neutral zone, where he was able to corral loose pucks and pull them through defenders in a singular motion while maintain his speed up the ice. There were a few times where he tried to be a world beater and get through multiple Team Green defenders which lead to turnovers, but the positives definitely outweighed the negatives in this game.

While I’ve been impressed with Johnson’s skill level since the first game, I thought this was the contest where he was finally able to put it all together. He was probably the most impressive puck transporter throughout the entirety of this game, showing off his blend of slick hands and elusive skating ability to maneuver around defenders in the neutral zone and gain the line for his team. In the offensive zone he was very difficult to contain along the perimeter, making quick cuts and deft stickhandling moves to get away from pressure and extend his puck touches, while also showing a proclivity to leverage his skill get to the middle of the ice; which helped draw a penalty in one instance. He scored his team’s second goal of the game by accepting a drop pass off the rush and beating the goaltender with a hard shot from the slot.

Johnson stood out to me in this one thanks to this puck carrying ability and inside driven mentality. Acting as the primary puck transporter for his line, he would often attack laterally off the rush, draw pressure towards him up high before dishing pucks down low to generate chances from in tight. He showed flashes of solid puck protection skills in the offensive zone, which he used to drive the middle of the ice and get shots off from the slot.