Sep 24, 2018
Johnsson looking to take his game to another level
Maple Leafs winger hasn’t looked like the dynamic offensive threat who had a 15-game NHL audition and starred in the AHL playoffs last season, Kristen Shilton writes.
TORONTO – Less than 48 hours into Maple Leafs’ training camp, Mike Babcock had already decided he wasn’t seeing enough from Andreas Johnsson.
Toronto’s head coach was stern in assessing the 23-year-old winger at the time, reporting Johnsson had “another level” yet to find in his game.
Halfway through camp, Johnsson is still looking for it.
“I feel like I have more to show and more to give,” Johnsson said after practice on Monday at MasterCard Centre. “I feel like my energy and skating is there, but my struggle right now is decisions around the ice with the puck, to make better plays and make it easier for myself and my teammates.”
Pencilled in on the Leafs’ projected fourth line with newcomer Par Lindholm and former Toronto Marlies’ linemate Kasperi Kapanen, Johnsson has looked a step behind the dynamic offensive threat the Leafs know – and need – him to be.
Johnsson has no points in his first two exhibition games, putting two shots on net with a middling 41 per cent possession.
Slow starts aren’t uncommon in the preseason, but they’re especially troubling for players like Johnsson who haven’t skated in a full NHL season and know a job isn’t guaranteed.
It was just last March that Johnsson earned the first NHL call-up of his career, playing in nine regular-season games and six of Toronto’s seven tilts against Boston in their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.
All told, Johnsson produced three goals and three assists in the 15-game NHL audition, before returning to the AHL and dominating for the Marlies on their run to a Calder Cup championship.
Johnsson’s 10 goals and 14 assists in 16 games won him the AHL’s playoff MVP award, a distinct honour for the 2013 seventh-round pick.
It all made for a shortened summer, and Johnsson was one of the last players to arrive at Leafs’ skates in September from training with Peter Froberg in Sweden. Johnsson says their regime had him well-prepared for the rigours of camp, but he’s anxious to start playing more consistently.
“You want it to be 100 per cent all the time,” Johnsson said. “I’m not going to say it’s frustrating [not to be there yet], but it’s what I want. It’s not impossible [to win a championship]; I know it is possible now and that brings a lot of confidence into this season. But I still don’t have a spot yet.”
Johnsson will have another opportunity to improve his chances Monday when Toronto takes on Montreal. His fourth line will be the only regular group Babcock is dressing in the Marlies-heavy lineup, a move designed to maximize the days leading up to Toronto’s home opener Oct. 3.
“We still have lots of time and that’s for all those young guys,” Babcock said. “I think initially when you make the National Hockey League you breathe and you go, ‘Yeah, I’m in the National Hockey League.’ Whoa, whoa. There are other guys who want those jobs too. So you have to keep pushing every day.”
That’s not just a message for Johnsson. It applies to defenceman Travis Dermott as well.
Dermott is in a heated battle on the Leafs’ blueline to retake the third-pairing spot he played in during the second half of last season, but has been slowed by a shoulder injury in camp. The 44 games Dermott played between regular season and playoffs represent the 21-year-old’s only NHL experience to date – not nearly enough of a resume to assume any job will be waiting in October.
“You can’t do anything but build off last season,” said Dermott. “For [Johnsson] and me, you have to know in the back of your mind this is where you’re supposed to be, this is where you deserve to be, and if you keep playing your game and keep getting better, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be here.”
In Johnsson’s case, playing at his best means re-establishing his speed and showcasing more consistent puck control. In practice late last week, Babcock was harping on Johnsson and Kapanen to hold on to the puck and create offence, asking, “What happened to you two?”
“I need to take more care of the puck and be stronger on it and make more plays,” Johnsson said. “I need my speed, too. When I don’t have the speed going I didn’t play a lot in the NHL. I can’t really battle with the bigger guys, but as long as I have the speed I can get away and have time to pass and shoot.”
Now, Johnsson has to execute. Babcock has kept his line intact throughout camp and the preseason, giving the impression that the position Johnsson holds in the Leafs’ regular lineup is his to lose.
“I know we can do better,” Lindholm said of the trio. “[Johnsson’s] fast and he [and Kapanen] proved they can play in the NHL last year. I really like them and I hope we can keep playing together. I think we can improve and be good.”