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Mini-Matthias poised for breakthrough?

By Matthew Wuest - RedWingsCentral.com / June 26, 2008

The Detroit Red Wings will probably regret trading Shawn Matthias for years to come, but Stephen Johnston may help ease some of the pain.

The Red Wings selected Johnston, Matthias's teammate with the Belleville Bulls, in the sixth round, 181st overall, in the NHL draft, with the hope he will experience a Matthias-type breakout over the next couple of seasons.

"I talked to (Belleville head coach) George Burnett after the draft and he was just shocked Johnston was still sitting there," said Red Wings director of scouting Joe McDonnell. "He said, ‘He's so much like Matthias in terms of his development progress,' and we were thinking exactly the same way."

When you look at Johnston's stats — two goals and seven assists in 56 regular-season games — it's not that much of a shock he was still around.

But it's important to take into account that Johnston played on one of the best teams in the Canadian Hockey League, and spent most of the year as a little-used fourth-line center on the road to the Memorial Cup.

In the post-season, however, the 18-year-old from Guelph, Ontario, had a chance to shine when Matthias went down with tonsillitis and mononucleosis. He more than doubled his season goal total in 19 games, finding the net five times, and almost matched his point total, chipping in with two assists.

McDonnell, based in Kitchener, home of the Ontario Hockey League champion and Memorial Cup host Rangers, took in plenty of Johnston's games, as the Rangers and Bulls met seven times in a classic final.

"He didn't get a whole lot of ice time this year and I was just lucky to see him in the games Matthias was out," McDonnell said. "He stepped into that second-line role and played real, real well. He responded really well."

The Red Wings drafted Matthias 47th overall in 2006 and traded him for Todd Bertuzzi a year later. The 6-foot-3, 211-pound center was coming off a 34-point season on draft day, but potted 38 goals among 73 points a season later and is now ranked the world's 12th best prospect by The Hockey News.

Johnston is listed as 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds, but Red Wings assistant GM Jim Nill figures he's already an inch taller and 10 pounds heavier. McDonnell said he's a "tall, lanky kid who just needs to grow into his body."

"His skating ability is probably his No. 1 asset," McDonnell said. "He's got a real good head for the game and he's a very good playmaker."

While Johnston's fourth-line role in Belleville might lead you to believe he's a bruising grinder, the Red Wings don't expect that to be his niche.

"He's not afraid to stick his nose in, but that's not his game, going out and running people," McDonnell said. "He's just a competitive player."

The Bulls will retool this season, with plenty of veterans — including Matthias — graduating to the pro ranks. That means Johnston is in for a major boost in ice time, and the Red Wings hope that means a major boost in production.

"He just showed us little flashes," Red Wings scout Mark Leach said. "At that point in the draft, Joe said, ‘This kid has some upside, something's going to happen to him.' There's just something here that we felt he had. These kids develop at different times ... We think he might be a bit of a late-bloomer."

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