Next month, Erik Johnson likely will make history as the first Minnesotan ever taken No. 1 overall in the NHL amateur draft. A jumbo-sized, mobile defenseman, Johnson has rocketed to the top of the scouting charts, passing the likes of Phil Kessel, Jordan Staal and UND's Jonathan Toews.
Johnson is from Bloomington, and his family has season tickets to the Minnesota Wild. And just in case you're wondering, the Wild have no shot at him. They select No. 9.
I suggested to general manager Doug Risebrough that he trade ALL his draft picks, including his two first-rounders, to
St. Louis for the overall No. 1 and a crack at Johnson.
"I probably would," he said with a chuckle. "But they wouldn't."
Well, I can think of about half a dozen players I'd be happy to toss into the deal.
"I try to stay levelheaded," Johnson said of potentially being the top pick. "You've got to keep level-headed; it's only one day in your life. So I don't try and think about it too much."
He may be the only one not getting excited. Everyone else is fired up about this 18-year-old's NHL future.
"If he came to our camp next fall, he'd make our team," said Tommy Thompson, assistant GM in charge of amateur scouting for the Wild.
Dream on, Tommy. You're not going to get this kid unless you can figure out a way to trick St. Louis into coughing up that top pick. Maybe you can get owner Bob Naegele Jr. to send the Blues front office some really, really expensive chocolates.
Johnson, 6 feet 4 and 225 pounds, played at Holy Angels for two seasons before joining the National Development Team Program. He was a member of the back-to-back world championship under-18 team. Both the International Scouting Service and Central Scouting Bureau have him ranked No. 1.
Meanwhile, Johnson has signed a letter of intent to play for the Gophers next season. But I'll be shocked if he ever laces them up at Mariucci.
"I've been a big-time Gopher fan for a long, long time," Johnson noted.
Best-case scenario for the Gophers is that Johnson takes note of just how terrible the St. Louis Blues are as a team. That club needs more than a franchise defenseman to turn things around. How many 18-year-old kids want to get clobbered night in and night out? Johnson would win an awful lot with the Gophers.
Of course, being drafted No. 1 doesn't guarantee anything. Just four Americans have been chosen with the first overall pick in the NHL amateur draft. The results have been mixed. The North Stars took the first two, Brian Lawton in 1983 and Mike Modano in 1988.
The weight of being the first U.S. player taken No. 1 was a lot to bear for Lawton, who never became a star. Modano, out of Michigan, is winding down an all-star career, however. He lived up to all the hype.
The third American chosen was defenseman
Bryan Berard, who oddly enough played high school hockey at Mount St. Charles in Rhode Island - same as Lawton. Berard, taken by Ottawa in 1995, now is a decent defenseman for Columbus. A serious eye injury has held him back.
Goaltender Rick DiPietro was the last American picked No. 1 overall. Out of Massachusetts, DiPietro was chosen by the Islanders in 2000 and appears to be on his way to a top-notch career. He was rushed into the NHL, so he still is developing.
Johnson's ultimate goal is to play professional hockey. He already has sacrificed a lot toward that objective, including moving away from home to train with the development team in Michigan.
"It's really like a job," he said. "How much work you put into it is what you get out of it. It's a lot of work but a big reward at the end.
"All my life I've wanted to be a hockey player. It's kind of funny. I told my dad when I was really young, 'I'm going to play in the NHL for a living.' 'Oh sure, the NHL,' he said. But I've worked hard at it. You're not a normal teenager. You give up your high school friends, the dances, all of that. Last year was tough. I wanted to go home. I stayed with it."
Clearly that effort is paying off.
"I've seen him numerous times in all sorts of situations," Thompson said. "He's huge, and he's perfectly coordinated. He's a beautiful, fluid skater with puck skills who is physically strong and aggressive."
He also is a pretty smart kid. He has been writing a blog for usahockey.com in these weeks leading up to the draft.
"I just think it's been a good opportunity," he said. "I'm in touch with more people. They get to learn a little more about you."
The scouts, though, have learned all they need to learn. It should be a big day for Johnson, and Minnesota, June 24 in Vancouver.
