6 replies to this topic

[thelastonealive]

http://www.nhl.com/i....htm?dpid=10301

[ghdi]

He fights!

[ironsights]

I was hoping they'd grab Zharkov.

[Jerseydevils0324]

Allegedly one of the best skaters in the draft, but average in terms of other areas. Hopefully this 3rd rounder from Windsor turns out to be like another 3rd rounder we drafted out of Windsor

[DevilMinder]

• His cousin, Blake Pietila, was drafted 129th overall in 2011 by New Jersey and currently plays for Michigan Tech.

[Marshall]

waitasec

[thefiestygoat]

Hockey Prospect Black Book:

Ben Johnson – LW/C – Windsor Spitfires, 6’0” 185

Ben Johnson went on quite a journey before signing as a free agent with the Windsor Spitfires. He split the 2010-2011 season between Fargo and USNTDP of the USHL, Little Caesars Under 18 team and primarily with his High School in Calumet High School, en route to being named Mr. Hockey for
the state of Michigan as a junior. Ben made the decision to come to the OHL and signed with the Windsor Spitfires.

Ben started out slow, but started producing near the end of the year and was getting good ice time, putting up 38 points as a rookie. The first thing you’ll notice about Johnson is his speed. He has an explosive first few steps and can absolutely fly. He loves to rush the puck down the wing and challenge defensemen. However, he appears to have the most trouble with defensemen that can hang with him skating wise. Ben has a decent shot, but what is frustrating is he tends to shoot from bad angles and passes up situations where passing would clearly be the best option. Johnson has the skill and skating ability to be a good prospect, but needs to start making better decisions and throwing the body a little more often to be successful. We can’t see a team taking Ben until late in the draft, due to the number of holes in his game at this point in time.

They ranked him 186th, CSS had him at 52 NA Skaters.

Future Considerations Draft Guide:

SCOUTING REPORT: A good sized high speed forward. He is one of the best pure skaters in the draft. His acceleration, footwork and speed are very impressive; often generating an offensive chance or drawing a penalty on many shifts. He shows good vision with the puck in the offensive zone; making strong decisions and plays with it. He is elusive in the neutral zone and at his best generating offense off of the rush with his quick wrist shot. He still has some room to grow with his core strength and his ability to play a strong, physical game in the corners as well as with his positional play in all three zones but he continues to show a steep development curve. Not overly flashy hands and does not try to beat the whole team but plays with health amounts of energy and compete. A highly skilled former Michigan high school standout who has changed his game to a more sound two-way style.

NHL POTENTIAL: Top nine two-way forward.

They ranked him 114th.

In Lou We Trust post on this pick. Tons of great info as usual.

He's got speed, hopefully the rest of his game develops.

Edited by thefiestygoat, 23 June 2012 - 03:04 PM.