Let's talk about Wyatt Johnston and what he's capable of

Let's dive in a bit deeper on a pice I wrote today for D Magazine.

Greetings.

It’s been a week since I wrote at this space. That was partially due to some planned family time last week — we celebrated my son’s birthday during a weekend getaway — and partially due to some other chaos at and away from work (not bad chaos, but chaos nonetheless).

My good friend, and co-author, Stephen Merserve also gave me the idea of better using this space to connect other things I write. He additionally brought it up as a way to do a linking out to other pieces, but since my brain noodled on additional things, I think from time to time we’ll use this to extend those other pieces.

Which is what I want to do today, after writing a column this morning for D Magazine about Wyatt Johnston and how he could potentially become the best center in Stars history.

Yes, I’m comparing him to Mike Modano. No, I’m not saying he’ll get a statue or anything like that.

But from an on-the-ice level, it’s hard for me to look at Johnston’s early career and not see the similarities and potential.

Here, take a look at their side-by-side numbers from comparative ages in the NHL.

Yes, they played in different eras, so it’s not apples-to-apples, but both had similar roles in their early 20s. Johnston, however, is on a better team and is a better all-around player than Modano was.

As I noted over at D, Modano’s evolution from all-gas-no-breaks offensive player to a two-way engine helped the Stars win the Stanley Cup. Johnston is already a two-way engine, and because of that he might end up playing for Canada at the Olympics as the third-line center if current trends continue.

Johnston is also delivering things at a sustainable rate. His scoring chance creation is reflective of both his understanding of the game, while it’s also replicate able and difficult to contain because of its simplicity.

Let’s roll some tape on Johnston’s scoring chances from the last 10 games, I want you to watch and notice where the chances are coming from.

Here’s a visual representation, courtesy of my friends at InStat.

Johnston gets to the hard areas, if we want to use hockey cliches, and most importantly he arrives at the right time better than most forwards in the NHL.

One scout I talk to quite frequently, who watched Johnston a lot in the OHL, texted me this week, about how his NHL team has used Johnston’s development arc as something to try and flag in other amateur prospects.

All food for thought, and I’m curios to hear your thoughts.

I’m also highly appreciative of readers here, and will have more this week now that I’ve gotten my mental re-set in place from the family trip. I’m going to have something off Stars-Senators tonight and I’m driving out to Grand Rapids tomorrow to watch some AHL hockey between the Grand Rapids Griffins and Toronto Marlins.

In the meantime, per Stephen’s suggestion, here are some other things I’ve written this week, linked out:

Why the Stars early-season adversity has been a benefit.

How the Chicago Blackhawks are starting to find some answers.

How the USHL and CHL are trying figure it all out.