Ryan Johnson drops hint about what players he may target for Vancouver Canucks
Ryan Johnson has preached that Vancouver Canucks players will have a clean slate entering training camp.
Ironically, Johnson himself also has a clean slate to build the roster he wants.
The 49-year-old is taking over a Canucks team that’s about to embark on a potentially lengthy rebuild. While Johnson wisely hasn’t put a timeline on it, he has stressed that wins and losses don’t matter until the culture and processes are set.
But which players will be around to set the culture?
As of now, the Canucks don’t have many pressure points to turn over their roster. Most of the team is locked in for next year contractually, and there aren’t many can’t-miss prospects who are looking to make their debut next season. Unless the third overall pick can step into the lineup.
However, as Johnson slowly builds the new and improved version of the Canucks, he’s at least dropped a hint about a prerequisite for players that he could be looking to acquire, whether that’s through the draft, trade, or free agency.
“I rely heavily on leadership,” Johnson said on the 100% Canucks podcast.
“It’s no secret that a lot of guys that I brought in, whether AHL contracts or NHL two-way contracts, if you look at it, I bet you 80 per cent of them were captains somewhere. I always check: have they worn a letter on their jersey?”
“You’re nothing if you don’t have leadership.”
This certainly matters to a Canucks team where leadership and culture were discussed ad nauseam amidst the ongoing locker room struggles of the floundering franchise.
But one thing of note: don’t say the word culture around Johnson.
“I tend not to use the word because I feel it’s very used and seldom executed,” he told hosts John Shannon and Landon Ferarro.
Funny, wasn’t culture one of Patrik Allvin’s favourite words when he was Canucks GM?
Regardless, you can see hints of Johnson’s leadership preferences with some of the AHL transactions that have been made over the last handful of seasons.
Max Sasson, one of Johnson’s best success stories, was an assistant captain in the USHL.
More recently, veterans like MacKenzie MacEachern, Joseph LaBate, and Jimmy Schuldt all wore letters at different levels. Schuldt was actually captain of the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda before signing with the Canucks last summer.
Even defenceman Jack Thompson, who was acquired for Jett Woo before the trade deadline in what was essentially an AHL-level trade, was an OHL captain and also a 21-year-old assistant captain in the AHL.
If you’re wondering which players the Canucks may target in the Johnson era, guys who have worn letters on their jersey may be a good place to look.
Even if they haven’t worn an official letter, the Canucks clearly could use a couple more veteran leaders come training camp in September.