A lot has changed for Hockey Tactics Newsletter subscriber Kent Johnson since he scored the overtime winner for Team Canada U20 during last August’s COVID-postponed World Junior Championships.
Since then, the 20 year old has made a successful transition from high-scoring college winger with U. Michigan to a top-six LW/C for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
In a recent text message, Kent asked me to take a look at his shifts to see where he can improve in order to create more offense. What I saw on video was a player who’s leveraging his significant skills and smarts to become a more impactful defensive player.
Indeed, making stops defensively and transitioning the puck is helping Kent earn opportunities alongside CBJ’s top forwards. The points will come in time as he matures physically and gets used to the NHL’s pace of play.
Watch the video at the top of the page to understand what I’m especially excited about in Kent’s game these days.
Watch with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Hockey Tactics Newsletter to watch this video and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.
