Kent Johnson was chosen fifth overall in the 2021 draft by the Blue Jackets because of his dazzling skill and ability to change the game with his playmaking abilities.
So far, two seasons into his CBJ tenure, there's been a fair share of ups and downs for the Vancouver native and University of Michigan product. The 21-year-old had one of the best rookie seasons in franchise history two years ago, posting 16 goals and 40 points (not to mention his highlight-grabbing ‘Michigan’ goal), but last year his numbers fell to six goals and 16 points in just 42 games.
TRAINING CAMP HOME, PRESENTED BY OHIOHEALTH
A shoulder injury ended his season in February, but Johnson put in the work this summer and feels like he’s ready to show his stuff. The biggest sign of that came in Wednesday’s exhibition game vs. St. Louis, when he had a goal and an assist and was all over the puck.
Johnson met with BlueJackets.com on Monday after CBJ practice for this Q&A. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Watching you the last couple of days doing extra work and practicing shootouts after practice, how fun is it to play around and do that?
“Definitely. It’s always fun. I love any time a goalie is willing to do shootout at the end of practice; I’ll probably do it. It’s pretty fun for me. Obviously shootout is something where you never know how many times it’ll happen in a year, but you definitely want to bury it when it comes to it.”
You did a lot of it in front of the fans after Sunday’s open practice. How cool was it to have a crowd watching you?
“Yeah, definitely. Most of the time, I don’t have a crowd like that for the shootout. It was fun. It’s fun to score and get a few, get a little bit of noise. You miss a couple and you start to feel the pressure, like, ‘OK, I gotta bury one here.’ It’s fun.”
Where do you come up with some of your moves? Probably a lot of it is just from messing around and trying things, but how do you approach it? Is there a method to the madness?
“There’s a method to it. Sometimes in practice, I might do 10 moves on a goalie. I’ll try a couple that are down the depth chart that I probably won’t do in a game, but there’s two or three probably working that I know are good options for a game. I just watch other guys’ moves and have some of my own I’ve made up through the years. I have a new one this summer I like. Me and Connor (Bedard) and Jake (Christiansen) actually go on the ice sometimes (in the summer) and do shootout competitions. We’ll do a few shootouts at the end. I’ll steal a move from them or something. Just see what’s new, what the trends are around the league and just try to do those.”
You look like you’re having a pretty noticeable camp and playing with pace. Was getting faster a focus this offseason?
“A huge one. I feel like maybe I was trying to do it before, but I didn’t know what I was doing. I think I really figured it out. I had some help with the people around me that taught me how to really do it right. It was good.”
A little bit of everything has happened since you got here – a good rookie year, last year some ups and downs. How excited are you to try to hit the accelerator this year?
“Definitely I’m excited. I think I just try to live in the moment, not look too far ahead or whatnot. I definitely feel like it could be a great year for me, so we’ll see how it goes.”
What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned in the last couple of years that is going to help you the most going forward?
“I think a lot of little things, obviously, but just for me, it’s the body and figuring out how to train the best is a big thing. I think I’ve made a lot of progress in that when I got hurt and trying to figure that stuff out. I’d say that’s the biggest thing. And just learning about the league – you see a lot of other young guys and how they’re doing. It’s just staying level-headed. I watch a lot of other sports, too, and it’s just knowing different opportunities and not getting down on yourself with the little stuff. I believe I’m a really good player. Certain stuff, stats, certain things didn’t go my way (previously). I’m not too worried about it. I’m just excited to play this year.”
We chatted a little over the summer. What was it like being back home? Vancouver has to be a great place to be.
“I really enjoy it. It was a great summer. Obviously a lot of good friends and family back home to spend some time with. The thing I really enjoy is the training, especially in the summer. I think I enjoyed it more than ever before. I felt like I was doing a better job and liked where I was heading with it. It was really enjoyable.”
You don’t really have to go anywhere if you’re in Vancouver, but did you get a chance to do any travel?
“I went up to Kelowna and spent some time with Cole (Sillinger). I went to Arizona with my Michigan buddies for a golf trip for a couple of days. I’m hitting them all right. I haven’t played the last month, but in the middle of summer I was playing pretty good. It’s always fun to get out there with the guys.”
Coming back here, it’s your third year in Columbus. Is it nice to be back?
“Super nice. It was a great summer in Vancouver, but I think the last couple of weeks I was pretty ready to get back to Columbus. I love it here. It’s so nice right now, the weather here, and the buzz around the city I think is really cool. I’m excited to be here. It’s nice to see all the guys again and hang out with them, so it’s good.”
