RWC REPORT: Johnston jumps, but can go higher

By Matthew Wuest - RedWingsCentral.com / January 26, 2009

Even though Stephen Johnston has nearly quadrupled his point total this season, he may only have scratched the surface of his potential.

"He has a ways to go as far as his ability to develop, but that's a good thing," said Detroit Red Wings scout Mark Leach. "He's just starting to get a real feel for the game, and I think he's got a lot of upside."

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound center has been a steady contributor for the Ontario Hockey League's Belleville Bulls, with 12 goals and 20 assists for 32 points in 41 games. He had just seven points as a fourth-liner last season.

	Stephen Johnston has nearly quadrupled his point total this season. (Photo: Sarah Lindenau).

The Red Wings drafted him 181st overall in June, hoping he'd emerge as a late-round steal once given a bigger role with the Bulls. He's getting more ice time and playing in more key situations, and his game is progressing.

"He's really made a step from last year to this year ... He's getting stronger and putting more points up," Leach said. "He was a solid two-way player when we drafted him, and he's just continued to improve."

Johnston's best assets are that he "skates well for a big guy," he "competes," and he's "willing to play in the hard areas," Leach said.

"Is he going to be a top-line guy? I don't know yet," Leach said. "But he's going to play an effective game at both ends of the ice."

RED WING REUNION: Forward Johan Ryno (AIK, Swedish Allsvenskan) had a couple of goals this week and has 10 points in 13 games in a season derailed by injuries. Ryno is teammates with two former Red Wings draftees, David Engblom (35-4-4-8) and Christofer Lofberg (21-3-4-7).

LEINO'S LATEST: Here are the numbers for forward Ville Leino (Grand Rapids, American Hockey League). First 10 games: four goals and 11 assists for 15 points. Next 34 games: seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points.

ALL-STAR SKILLS: Goaltender Daniel Larsson stopped five of six shooters in the breakaway event and defenseman Jakub Kindl clocked a time of 14.937 seconds in the fastest skater event as the Grand Rapids Griffins teammates helped PlanetUSA beat Canada in the AHL skills competition on Sunday.

HOT HOWARD: Is goaltender Jimmy Howard (Grand Rapids, AHL) in the midst of one of his famous hot streaks? It sure looks like it. In his past 11 appearances dating back to Dec. 17, Howard has a miniscule 1.63 goals-against average, a .941 save percentage, three shutouts and an 8-3 record.

A strong finish to the season will help Howard erase a sluggish start and reestablish him in the Red Wings' plans for 2009-10.

BIG RIG IN THE SHOP? Defenseman Jonathan Ericsson (Grand Rapids, AHL) has been battling knee and wrist injuries lately.

The following is an up-to-date statistical report for skaters:

NAME	TEAM	LEAGUE	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
A H L
Ville Leino	Grand Rapids	AHL	44	11	26	37	14
Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	AHL	45	15	16	31	24
Justin Abdelkader	Grand Rapids	AHL	44	14	13	27	59
Darren Helm	Grand Rapids	AHL	35	10	17	27	14
Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	AHL	46	5	22	27	46
Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	AHL	38	9	17	26	8
Cory Emmerton	Grand Rapids	AHL	39	3	17	20	18
Ryan Oulahen	Grand Rapids	AHL	46	10	4	14	21
Jamie Tardif	Grand Rapids	AHL	38	9	5	14	30
Jonathan Ericsson	Grand Rapids	AHL	35	2	11	13	40
Logan Pyett	Grand Rapids	AHL	35	1	7	8	4
Sergei Kolosov	Grand Rapids	AHL	39	0	6	6	22
Jan Mursak	Grand Rapids	AHL	25	0	3	3	10
K H L
Gennady Stolyarov	Astana Barys	KHL	33	11	8	19	20
Miroslav Blatak	Salavat Yulaev	KHL	43	3	9	12	14
S W E D E N
Dick Axelsson	Farjestad	SEL	29	8	16	24	14
Anton Axelsson	Timra	SEL	41	4	5	9	0
Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	SEL	38	3	6	9	20
Jesper Samuelsson	Timra	SEL	39	2	1	3	10
Johan Ryno	AIK	SWE-2	13	5	5	10	10
Joakim Andersson	Boras	SWE-2	4	2	2	4	2
Jesper Samuelsson	Sundsvall	SWE-2	5	0	1	1	4
C H L
Brent Raedeke	Edmonton	WHL	51	16	26	42	60
Randy Cameron	Moncton	QMJHL	43	13	26	39	18
Zack Torquato	Erie	OHL	46	19	19	38	62
Stephen Johnston	Belleville	OHL	44	13	21	34	22
Brian Lashoff	Kingston	OHL	41	2	17	19	35
N C A A
Gustav Nyquist	Maine	HE	24	9	11	20	18
Brendan Smith	Wisconsin	WCHA	21	7	11	18	40
Bryan Rufenach	Clarkson	ECAC	22	6	4	10	28
Julien Cayer	Clarkson	WCHA	19	3	6	9	22
Nick Oslund	St. Cloud State	WCHA	24	4	2	6	26
Nils Backstrom	Alaska-Anchorage	WCHA	22	3	2	5	26
U S H L
Max Nicastro	Chicago	USHL	33	7	16	23	54

The following is an up-to-date statistical report for goaltenders:

NAME	TEAM	LEAGUE	GP	W-L-O	GAA	SPCT
Thomas McCollum	Brampton	OHL	38	23-11-4	2.13	.927
Daniel Larsson	Grand Rapids	AHL	24	15-5-1	2.35	.924
Jimmy Howard	Grand Rapids	AHL	26	13-10-2	2.40	.913

LEAGUE LEGEND: AHL — American Hockey League; KHL — Kontinental Hockey League; SEL — Swedish Elite League; SWE-2 — Swedish Allsvenskan (second level); OHL — Ontario Hockey League; WHL — Western Hockey League; QMJHL — Quebec Major Junior Hockey League; WCHA — Western Collegiate Hockey Association; ECAC — East Coast Athletic Conference; HE — Hockey East; USHL — United States Hockey League.