On September 22, I spoke to Kent Johnson as he embarked on his first professional training camp.
What are the differences between going into your freshman year at Michigan and going into your first full season as a pro?
Johnson: "Yeah, obviously I think there's a lot of differences. Probably more free time here. But I think the mindset around the rink and the hockey stay pretty similar. I think at Michigan, we put a lot of time into our hockey there and we weren't [too busy] at school. We just had enough time to do both. So I don't think the hockey changes too much, I guess."
Is it helpful that you don't have to go to class or is it weird that there's less structure?
Johnson: "Definitely. Obviously, you had to manage your time and whatnot there, but I think obviously, having that extra time to not really have to worry about homework assignments or whatnot, that obviously can't really hurt your hockey so it's nice."
Has playing with so many high draft picks at Michigan helped your development so far?
Johnson: "Yeah, definitely. I mean, [it's a] really competitive environment there. Our practices were awesome. So I think it was awesome to be around all those top players and we had a lot of fun."
Is there anything from your performance at the NHL Prospects Tournament in Traverse City, Michigan, that you can take into this training camp, or is it just a fresh start?
Johnson: "Not really. I think it's in the past and [training camp is] a fresh start. Obviously, I think training camp is a different beast. So I'm not too worried about that [Traverse City] tournament now."
According to naturalstattrick.com, Johnson leads Blue Jackets forwards in 5v5 xG and takeaways and is tied for fourth among forwards in 5v5 shots. The Jackets have two remaining games in the preseason, Thursday night against St. Louis and Saturday night against Washington. After the latest cuts, Johnson is among 16 forwards and 29 players still left on the NHL roster.
