Summer Spotlight: Kent Johnson is ready to roll

In the leadup to training camp in September, BlueJackets.com is featuring CBJ players each weekday this summer. 

How he got here: Growing up in Vancouver, Johnson burst onto the scene in 2017-18 with an excellent year with Burnaby Prep, then had two strong seasons with Trial of the BCHL, notching 101 points in 52 games in the latter. That made him a top college hockey recruit, and Johnson chose to play at the University of Michigan. He finished two seasons in Maize and Blue with 64 points in 58 games, and in the middle of his college career, the highly skilled forward was chosen fifth overall in the 2021 draft by the Blue Jackets. After his sophomore season at U-M, Johnson turned pro and now has two full NHL seasons under his belt. He’s also scored one of the all-time goals in Canadian junior hockey history, tallying in overtime to give the country the win in the gold medal match of the 2022 World Juniors.

The 2023-24 season: Johnson put together one of the best rookie campaigns in CBJ history in 2022-23, with his 16-24-40 line giving him top-five marks in team history for goals and points among first-year players. Last year was a struggle, though – whether it was a sophomore slump or something deeper, Johnson was a healthy scratch for opening night and never quite found his groove outside of a stretch of early December, spending time with AHL Cleveland and then eventually suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in late February.

Top moment: Johnson had one game-winning goal on the season, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. In a Dec. 14 game at Toronto, Johnson rescued the Blue Jackets, scoring an overtime goal to give Columbus a 6-5 victory. Columbus saw a 5-0 lead going into the third period disappear, but Johnson ripped a shot past Ilya Samsonov 3:26 into the extra frame to give Columbus the win. It was the second goal of the game for Johnson and gave him a three-point, plus-4 night.

Fun fact: One of the most talent-rich areas of the hockey world at the moment is the Vancouver area, and you can see that in Johnson’s workout partners this summer. Not only has he been working with longtime friend and CBJ defenseman Jake Christiansen, he’s also skated with the last two No. 1 overall picks in Connor Bedard (Chicago, 2023) and Macklin Celebrini (San Jose, 2024), both of whom are natives of the area.

Stat to Know: Even in the midst of last year’s campaign, Johnson had a six-game stretch in which he posted three goals and eight points with a plus-6 rating, highlighted by that three-point night in Toronto. He also had five goals and 15 points in 10 games in his sojourn to Cleveland. This remains a player who can fill up the net when things are going well.

Expectations for 2024-25: Johnson enters the season with high hopes, telling BlueJackets.com that he’s fully recovered from the shoulder injury and ready to go after signing a three-year contract this offseason. It would be a major boon to the Blue Jackets if he can match or exceed his play from his rookie year, as it looked at the time like Johnson was set to be a big-time weapon for years to come. An offensive standout everywhere he’s been in the game up to this point, Johnson enters year three of his pro career with a chance to take a major leap with his game. He should get plenty of chances to skate in the top six, but he’ll have to make the most of them.