News came down late this morning that top tier prospect Ryan Johansen had been sent down to the Springfield Falcons, Columbus’ AHL farm team. Twitter, as it often does, immediately erupted in a wave of knee jerk reactions lead by the idea that the team was making a terrible decision.
But as the news sunk in, a pretty intriguing realism surfaced; This is not your standard Columbus Blue Jackets franchise anymore.
Gone are the days where prospects are rushed into the National Hockey League in hopes of sparking a woefully disappointing club. The concept of earning a roster spot will eventually resonate through the system and force players to work hard on every shift in every game to get awarded time on ice with the Blue Jackets.
With that said, I can’t help wonder where this leaves Johansen.
To begin, he has not been ‘bad’ in Columbus this year. He has produced prime scoring opportunities in his ten games with the Jackets, despite not yet registering a goal in 21 shots. He has averaged over 15 minutes of ice time per game, during which he has spent quite a bit of time on a line with Vinny Prospal. I suspect that has a lot to do with mentoring, but I often questioned whether the speed of the aging veteran would be a bad fit for the energetic youngster.
He goes back to a Springfield team that has had quite a bit of success this year, leading the eastern conference in points, and leading their division by as much as 13 points currently. Johansen collected 27 points (14-13) in 34 games with the Falcons prior to the NHL lockout ending, and I would expect his output to fall in line with those numbers or be better from this point of the season on.
The intangibles of the demotion (assuming they are extended) are strong. At the AHL level, Johansen will have more time with the puck, and will likely dominate play when on the ice. His skills will have room for growth and he will be able to get more creative with the puck.
In addition, he will be able to experience the winning culture that helps to cultivate prospects rather than a very slump-ish rise/fall feeling happening right now in Columbus. As I watched Columbus struggle to compete for a full sixty minutes early this season, I could not help but wonder if that attitude was seeping into Johansen’s mentality.
Finally, he will likely have a chance to compete in the playoffs with Springfield. I doubt it is easy to try and teach players what it’s like to play in the playoffs, and while it is not the NHL playoffs, he will experience that high end, no cut competition that will mold his character on ice.
The “New Age” Blue Jackets team is likely bound to generate some heartache in the short run, but we have to continue to challenge ourselves to look beyond the present and consider what is best for the franchise in the long run. Are they going to be one of those clubs that competes every couple years but has yet to see a Stanley Cup, or are they going to develop their prospects over a long period of time and become a team that competes perennially?
Carry the Flag.
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