Johansen's Drive, Stick Tape Helping Preds to Success This Season

The Predators have kept pace in the Central Division standings all season long, thanks - in part - to the contributions of centerman Ryan Johansen.
Johansen is in his sixth season skating for the Preds and has seen how much the club has changed since his first campaign with the team. This is especially true this year with how different the identity and feel of the team has been and how much that uniformity has pushed the Preds to be where they are today in the standings.

"It's been fun," Johansen said on a recent episode of the Preds Official Podcast. "If you evaluate our team and look at our group of men right now and the character in our organization around our hockey club, it has really come out and has really shined and we're proud of where we're at… The sky's the limit right now."
Johansen has been on a character-defining run himself this year. The Preds centerman currently sits at 49 points (17g-32a) - more than he has had the past two seasons - and he's showing no signs of slowing down.
"I'm just having as much fun as I can," Johansen said. "You learn a lot [over the years] and you just continue to keep learning. You're always learning, you're always growing and then you're always finding ways to be a more effective player for your team."

Johansen can attribute part of his success to the way he tapes his stick. As Johansen revealed, he was recently given suggestions by an NHL legend in Wayne Gretzky on how to utilize the tape, but ultimately he has found the magic touch on his own.
"I was enjoying the insight]," Johansen laughed of his conversation with Gretzky and former NHLer Brett Hull during a summer golf tournament. "So last year, I tried it and I didn't score a goal for like 15 games. I'm like, 'This is stupid. You guys have no idea what you are talking about.' So, I went back to my old half tape job with white and I scored the first game, so I'm like, 'These guys have no idea what they're talking about.' I'm just going to do my own thing. I don't think it works as well for me as it does those guys."
Johansen never had the pleasure to play with the likes of Gretzky or Hull, but he's been around plenty of great defenseman over the years - arguably no one better than Preds Captain Roman Josi.
"He's so good," Johansen said. "He is so impressive as a teammate and every game I'm like, 'Alright, what record did he break today?'... He just seems more and more motivated to be the best he can be, and it's inspiring and it's just fun to be a part of. One day when we're looking back at his career and just what as teammates we have done and what we did together, it's going to be pretty cool to look back and see all the things my teammates and Josi have accomplished."
The future is bright for the Preds and Johansen. With how great he and his teammates have skated, the sky is indeed the limit for the remainder of this season.
"Every game is so important, but we feel like we just focus on what we do as a group and not worry about what's happening around us," Johansen said. "We have a lot of belief, a lot of confidence in our group… and we're not overthinking much. [We just focus on] having some fun, going out there and putting in the work and playing for one another, and we feel like the job will get done."
[Click here to listen
to Ryan Johansen's full interview on Episode 164 of the Preds Official Podcast.