Minnesota defenseman Erik Johnson has signed with the St. Louis Blues. Johnson, who was last year's first overall draft pick in the NHL draft, was pretty much expected to sign with St. Louis this summer, though there was a bit of apprehension in St. Louis when Johnson didn't sign immediately after his collegiate season ended.
Johnson's college career was fairly quiet, which given his position, isn't always a terrible thing. Still, if you hadn't seen the name on the back of his jersey, I don't think he would have stood out as a spectacular player. He has a world of talent though, and hopefully will have a long, successful NHL career.
This departure probably doesn't sting too much for Minnesota since it was pretty much expected. Now their attention will turn to Alex Goligoski and Kyle Okposo to see if they will follow Johnson to the NHL or return to Minnesota.
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23 comments:
Blame this on Lucia. And watch Okposo leave as well. They didn't exactly love their time at Minnesota. Much like Kris Chucko left early as Calgary was not pleased with his progression, the same can be said for the St. Louis Blues.
And Duncan and Chorney and Oshie are staying at North Dakota. Oshie is also a Blues prospect, but unlike Johnson, he is staying. Very interesting. See what happens when you like your coach and are treated with respect.
So again why go to the NCAA for 1 yr and not play major A for 3????
Because it was a dream of his as a child! And also for state pride and playing in the WCHA, which is a step above WHL competition.
Should have gone to the OHL. He would be a much better player for pro hockey.
sorry I ment the WHL same dam thing...
Plenty of players have stayed longer than they needed to under Lucia.... Vanek, Leopold, Wheeler, Martin; if anything past records show that No. Dak kids bolt for the NHL faster because they have no belonging to that state (since they are all from Canada or Minnesota)
EJ was the only #1 NHL pick to ever play college hockey; enough said!!!! Of course he was only going to play one year.
As for Chucko, he just wasn't that good, thats why he never progressed... he only looked good because he was Zajac's teamate in Canada; which helped his stats. Other high picks like Okposo and Vanek seemed to develop just fine.
"Other high picks like Okposo... seemed to develop just fine". Really? What I saw was a kid that did not do much of anything once Hirsch went back to the psych ward. Did Okposo even have a goal after Hirsch got booted off the team?
kessel had 53 points as a freshman too!
Ryan Potulny progressed drastically every year as well; but thats right Lucia has no impact on his players; right?
Kessel would have score 50+ for any team in the country. Show me the Pavelski on Lucy's resume...a 7th round pick that is playing effectively in the NHL playoffs after a couple seasons of mentoring by a good coach that actually develops talent.
The bozo above this is a laugh. One forward actually makes it through Eaves' stifling system and somehow that is proof of something. Brilliant! haha
anon 5:39,
Check your facts... Joe Murphy of Michigan State also was a #1 overall pick who played NCAA hockey. Although I do agree with your other points.
Good point; I could be wrong, but I think that the others were all drafted after their freshman year in college.... Technicallity, but still.
EJ is the only one to play college the after being drafted #1.
For the bozo fan who is so brilliant haha. Rene Borque is another example of a very low draft choice that came through Eaves "stifling system" to actually make the show. That's 2 in 4 or 5 years of Eaves at UW. Lucy has been coaching college hockey a bit longer, where are his 6th, 7th, 8th, or 9th round draft pick that have made it to the NHL? Oh that's right, there are none. Does Lucy develop talent or simply collect it?
The coaches pre-season poll had Minnesota, No Dak, and Wisconsin at the top of the league. Only one of the coaches from those teams met expectations this year and only one brought home any hardware this year. If you want to make silly conclusions about a coach you can pick any number of data points to "proove" your position. All three of these coaches are obviously top notch and to argue otherwise is ridiculous.
The data point we are talking about is player development. How about I throw out a third name, Piskula as an undrafted player that signed an NHL contract and played in the NHL with the Kings at the end of the year. Still waiting for a Lucy success story of developing a talent for the NHL other than a high draft pick. Serious question and not simply a troll post...Has Lucy had one player like that?
Why does it matter? I am not a gopher fan at all... more of an SCSU guy, but why in the world would Lucia take someone so he could "develop" them when he gets all the top end talent anyways. You can't blame him for getting good players. Barribal was a 7th round pick and his stock has sky-rocketed after his freshman season and I have a feeling he will be playing in the show someday. It's pretty much like everybody hating the yankees because they win lots of championships.
I don't know Lucia's history at Fairbanks or CC to know if he had an undrafted player make it to the NHL. Not sure if he has had any at Minnesota either. I do know he has lots of players come through his programs and move on to the NHL. Regardless, I think it's a stretch to give a college coach credit for "development" of a player whether drafted or not, who makes it to the NHL. Does the pee wee coach get credit? Every coach gets a kid for a relatively brief period of time. Development comes at different rates and times. For the most part it's the player who gets credit. College coaches are hired to create competitive teams who stay out of trouble. Lucia, Eaves, and Hakstol have done that (each with some issues that have been relatively minor in nature). Each have had players exceed expectations and each have had players fall below expectations. I wouldn't make a hiring decision based on a few examples.
Sounds like Eaves can't recruit from the previous posters.
Oh Lord the Yankees comparison again. Must be a Gopher fan in disguise. Championships: Yankees-27 Gophers-5(only 3 before 2002). Yep thats whopping 5 championships, but supposedly they win lots of them. Pah-leaze
But has Lucia ever punched out one of his players?
Verbal punches can be more effective than a physical one.
That could be why Minnie has so many kids quit or mutually leave the program. Eaves is a great coach!
Go Blue! 9 time NCAA champ!
Lucy wouldn't get into a scrap with anyone...he'ld be too afraid a hair might get out of place.
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