Johnson big-time playoff performer
It’s one of the oldest stories in the NHL, but the story never gets old. Tyler Johnson was told — through words and deeds — that he was too small to play in the NHL. Plenty of skill and speed, sure, but at just 5 feet 9, he wouldn’t survive in the land of behemoth defensemen.
So Johnson went undrafted, not just the first year he was eligible, 2008, but also in 2009 and 2010. In those three drafts, 632 players were picked, but no Tyler Johnson.
Fast-forward five years and Johnson has NHL scouts looking at their shoes and NHL executives reconsidering their draft processes.
Johnson has led the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Stanley Cup finals, tearing through the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers and playing like a Conn Smythe Trophy favorite as the top performer in the playoffs.
He has more goals (12), more points (21) and more game-winning goals (four) than any other player in these playoffs.
“The bigger the game, the better he plays,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said after Johnson’s hat trick in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
“That’s Tyler Johnson. It’s unreal to watch. He put his team on his back, and we all followed.
“Winning follows that kid. You’re a special player for that to happen … to do it in the greatest league in the world, on the biggest stage, in the world’s most famous arena. It doesn’t get any bigger than that.” Bigger, he said. Johnson is listed at 5-9, 175 pounds. To stand next to him, though, is to think those numbers are stretched.
“I don’t really think size plays a big role,” Johnson said. “Everyone plays the game differently, regardless of how big you are, and you’ve just got to find what works for you.”
The Minnesota Wild almost signed Johnson, and the Blue Jackets had internal discussions about inviting him to development camps and/or the Traverse City Prospects Tournament in 2009 and 2010 — pro scout Sam McMaster was a big proponent of signing him — but it never got much traction.
“People would always notice me, notice my play,” Johnson told the Tampa Tribune earlier this season. “And I would talk with scouts, have dinner with teams and talk to GMs, and if you didn’t know any better, you’d think I was on my way to something.
“But there was always something holding it back, and the majority of the time it was my size. Guys just didn’t know if it would translate.”
After a monster fourth season in junior — 53 goals, 62 assists in 71 games — Johnson finally had suitors in 2011, and he picked the Lightning because he liked their direction under GM Steve Yzerman.
Johnson has centered the best line in these playoffs — The Triplets — with Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat on his wings.
“Tyler is the fastest player I’ve ever been on the ice with,” Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman said. “He can fly with his feet, but it’s also his anticipation.
“I don’t care how big he is — or isn’t — because he always gets there first to the puck.”