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Where's RyJo's Mojo?

Mozy

Entry posted by Mozy

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Where to start with this guy. I for one was his biggest fan to start the season, and still would gladly get a Johnson #10 jersey but the man's stock has been falling and on a bottom six that is under the microscope of every arm chair GM and Canucks fan his play has stood out even more, for the wrong reasons. Granted due to his shot blocking antics he has missed games due to injury, there's something else up with RyJo this season.

I think simply put RyJo has lost some of his mojo. I'm not sure how else to word it. He's looked out of sync now for the better part of the season and with the bottom six getting so much attention from everyone due to their inconsistent and sub par play when he has been in the lineup he's not standing out as the 4th line center he stood out as last year.

For a guy who doesn't bring a lot of offence, as a role player he becomes even more important because if he's not playing his role he's not doing very much for the team. On a penalty kill that Ryan Johnson was once the staple of has now been identified as Kesler and Burrows' and on that same penalty kill that has struggled the role of Ryan Johnson has stood out even more due to his lack of, well anything.

Since coming from St. Louis he's seen his offensive numbers dip considerably, and this season through 40 games has a whopping 10 shots. He's looked out of sync on a fourth line that has been host to under achievers like Hordichuk, and a rotating Bernier who's seen time on both lines in the bottom six. Johnson's still trying to block shots, but you have to imagine that the 33 year old's body is catching up to his game. With the likes of Burrows and Kesler who are becoming regular shot blockers, Johnson's got to try and fall back into sync. He just doesn't look like the same player he did last year and after about 60 games it's time to start noticing.

Johnson's gone from 80+ shots a season but two years ago, to exactly 10 this year. He takes the second most faceoffs on the team. His faceoff number are up, but that's of little consolation when he's expected to be one of the more consistent players on the bottom six. Johnson, as a package, comes as a shot blocking, grinding, gritty, penalty killing specialist. So far apart from his faceoffs won this year he's struggled and the only plausible conclusion seems to be that his body is finally catching up with him. It's pretty clear that this season is going to see a revamped bottom six and with the guy a free agent this off season I wouldn't be surprised if he was gone.

RyJo plays a risky kind of hockey, he's gutsy, ballsy, and plain stupid with some of the blocks he makes (I watched him at GM Place dive head first to block a shot in an earlier game this season against Detroit). He's a player that has little else to offer the team and and out of step Johnson, on an underachieving and under performing bottom six is reason for second thought.

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brandonprustsbrokenface

I just can't believe the blogs people write on Canucks.com. Some players have off years, or tough years but to write Ryan Johnson off like that reeks of bandwagon blogosphere BULLSH**

He comes to play every night, has the heart and soul of a bull, and will be extremely valuable come playoff time. These are the players that win cups buddy.

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Luongo

He's the same player he was last year. His stats on the PK were bad last year as well. He needs to be smarter in terms of picking his spots, because whenever he goes down to block a shot, he pulls himself out of position, and position is by far the most important aspect of killing penalties.

He was never a strong 5-on-5 player, mainly due to his lack of strength to win puck battles and laying the body.

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massmatty

Ya he needs to go, if you consider yourself a pk specialist you need to kill penalties. He doesn't. We need a shakeup of our bottom six if were going to make any noise come playoff time. How can you play that many games and have 10 shots on goal?

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R4ff

Yes he's a great role player, yes he blocks shots, yes he's gritty, but why doesn't he play how he played to get into the NHL. I mean, how else do you think he even got drafted.

.............................

"Omg! He is such a fast and hard hitting guy!"

"Umm, sir you do know he has 14 shots this season with no goals and 2 assists..."

"But he blocks shots and is fearless! That's the definition of a hockey player! We need a forward who plays defence and thinks he's a goalie, somebody who's reckless with no abandon. It'll be like 3 defenceman!"

"But sir.... " :(

"We have to draft this guy, he's amazing!"

"He has no hands though"

"Shut up that's enough, we'll take him over Patrick Elias OK."

"Ok, your decision..."

"Yes it's our turn!!"

...........................

"ON BEHALF OF THE FLORIDA PANTHERS, WE ARE VERY HAPPY TO SELECT, FROM THE THUNDER BAY FLYERS OF THE USHL, RYAN JOHNSON!!!!!!!!!"

.........................

NO!! That wasn't the case, he was a 2nd round draft pick who had 14 goals and 36 assists in 48 games. He needs to go out there and just play hockey, he needs to somehow let go of his mental role. For heavens sake, all he does is dump the puck in and chases after it (and sometimes isn't very successful :( ). And when he does get into an offensive position, he makes the dumbest decisions as if he had no poise at all. I'm worried for him right now, if he doesn't pick it up, he might end up in AV's dog house. And everybody knows how bad that is.

If only he played like he did with the Blues... He put up respectable stats during his last year with them, registering 85 shots (over his whopping 10 this season).

If he continues down this path, he won't be with this team next year, and that will be saddening...

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