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| Player Profile – Owen Johnson It was the first period of the first game of the season for the Canucks. After a season with the most injuries in franchise history, the Canucks are hoping for a good start against Olds. On the near boards, Owen Johnson goes down favouring his shoulder. It’s separated. A few minutes later, he joins his scratched teammates in the stands. While the injury wasn’t severe, the team breathed a heavy sigh. Despite the early setback, the Calgary born and bred d-man has enjoyed a solid start to his first full season in the AJHL. Last year, as an AP, he played seven games for the Canucks. This year, he expects more from himself after graduating from the Buffaloes AAA Midget program. “I felt like I had a pretty good shot to make the team. They coaches liked me last year; I was pretty confident.” That doesn’t mean that he has been coasting. Rather, he works hard to be the player the team needs him to be. The versatile defenseman is flexible on style. Paired with Mangone, he can stay back. With Herman, he might move up a bit more in the play. “It depends what’s going on and who I’m playing with. I adjust as I go. I’ve been more defensive as of late, but I can be a two-way d.” Despite a difficult start to the season for the team, Johnson believes the best is yet to come for both him and the rest of the team. “I want to have a good rookie year. I’m starting to get the rookie jitters out. The coaches have a lot of confidence which helps.” “I think we’re capable of pushing far in the playoffs. There’s lots of skill. We can be one of the top teams in the league.” Now Johnson, healthy, and the rest of his teammates are working on proving his statement. |
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