NHL Draft: Washington Capitals Select Marcus Johansson
by Stephen Pepper on Jun 26, 2009 11:22 PM EDT
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GM George McPhee sauntered up to the podium, in a bespoke suit (and rocking a bold red tie), and selected TSN's #33 ranked prospect, Swedish Elite League Färjestads BK pivot Marcus Johansson, with the 24th overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Making this draft year the third time in four years that the Caps have selected a Swedish center in the first round. The pick was historic in that it established the first time in which seven Swedes were selected in the first round of an NHL draft.
Johansson has suffered a few concussions in his brief career, but enjoyed a healthy 2008-09 season for the Elitserien championship squad.
NHL Director of European Scouting Goran Stubb said of Marcus:
"There's no real strong points to his game, but no weak points, either. He plays a very mature game. He's a very, very good two-way centerman."
"He doesn't have the same skills, the same understanding of the game [as C Jacob Josefson, who went to NJ with the #20 selection], but this is a guy who makes all the small things right. His passing; he usually comes out a winner in the corners along the boards, so he has good hands; he sees the ice very well and works hard."
George McPhee said he was impressed by the way Johansson played in the final of the 2009 WJC Tournament, noting that he was one of only a few Swedes who really showed up and played well in a hostile environment in Ottawa.
Red Line had Johansson at No. 42, ISS had him at No. 93, The Hockey News had him at No. 30.
Some limited further analysis from Hockey's future here.
Update: Video montage highlights and interviews with Marcus and GMGM after the jump:
Highlights:
Post-selection interview with Marcus below:
He'll play in Sweden at least one more season. Not surprisingly, he mentioned Peter Forsberg and Mats Sundin as his idols.
And McPhee's comments after the first round:
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I doubt there is a statistical parallel between size and Stanley Cups, so as long as he’s a skilled and smart player, I’m not worried. Could be wrong though.
Capitals Kremlin the second line center of the Caps blogosphere.
by CapitalsKremlin on Jun 26, 2009 11:45 PM EDT up reply actions
I’m not trying to make any point about Cups. I’m just saying you can be effective in all zones even at 5’11".
I was agreeing :)
Capitals Kremlin the second line center of the Caps blogosphere.
by CapitalsKremlin on Jun 26, 2009 11:59 PM EDT up reply actions
The thing that concerns me is that the Caps have lots of small guys in the system and not a lot of bigger guys. Osala and….
When did 5’11" become short? Just because most of the Caps are 6’ or over? That’s a lousy inch. Now, 5’7" — that’s short.
Of course, to me, almost everyone is tall.
Let’s see what this kid fills out to in 18 months, when he may well have a crack at camp…he looked like a pretty solidly built guy (whereas LeBlanc looked like he would sail away with a big gust of wind). From what I’ve read about him, he’s lauded for very little, except this: he wins battles.
from the house that Red Jesus built
I think it’s worth pointing out that while he’s not tall, he’s not light. 189 pounds at 5’11’’ and 18 years old is pretty thick.
Danny Briere is thick too. Yet the NHL pounding has taken a toll on his frame.
OK OK, I know that this is all slightly silly. But my point isn’t that the kid is small, it’s that he’s not big. The Caps have an abundance of ‘not big’ guys in the system.
Danny Briere is thick too. Yet the NHL pounding has taken a toll on his frame.
Biere’s under 180 now and I think he was 160-165 when he was drafted.
I think since the lockout and the crackdown on obstruction, size doesn’t mean as much as everyone thinks it does.
I can’t really back that one up with data though. Although, off the top of my head I know that the Caps are currently a pretty big team. They need to make a website with whacky statistics, like average player sizes for teams, for nerds like me that actually care about that kind of stuff.
That’ll drop with the loss of Kozlov (and, truthfully, Fedorov). And probably Morrisonn, and perhaps Jurcina.
And adding Bourque will bring everything down as well…
We’re not a small team, won’t be anytime soon, but we won’t be the largest anymore unless we add some size from outside the organization.
I don’t care whether we’re the biggest team or not if we’re not going to use that size, and being bruisers isn’t the Caps’ style. If they’re smaller but forecheck harder and fight in the corners more, then so be it.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
Might have been able to trade down for him since Tampa was gunning for Ashton Carter and we might have been able to get a another pick or two, but still, that’s all subjective and maybe he would have gone.
Capitals Kremlin the second line center of the Caps blogosphere.
by CapitalsKremlin on Jun 26, 2009 11:34 PM EDT reply actions
Can’t say I’m mad about the pick, but I feel like we reached for the second year in a row.
Capitals Kremlin the second line center of the Caps blogosphere.
by CapitalsKremlin on Jun 26, 2009 11:36 PM EDT up reply actions
And I meant to say the caps, not we.
Capitals Kremlin the second line center of the Caps blogosphere.
by CapitalsKremlin on Jun 26, 2009 11:36 PM EDT up reply actions
I didn’t feel it was so much a reach. Bob McKenzie said his rankings this year were basically a blob once you got from 15 on to 35. McPhee was probably the best available player on the Caps board and that’s why he took so little time going up there and announcing the pick. Not all late 1st rounders are going to be Mike Green and John Carlson, so if this kid can eventually be a 3rd line center with some good 2-way game, this is a good pick.
Russian Machine Never Breaks
I was grateful for McPhee’s speed. The draft went at an absolute crawl last night, and it was nice to see him not monkey around.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
by gotsparkly on Jun 27, 2009 5:47 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
yeah, not much fanfare, not much of an entourage on stage at all.
I will say this about McPhee: he keeps a tight lid. His “best available” mantra is consistent and a good philosophy, makes sense, it’s easy to explain with a scant few words, etc., but I have no doubt now that he was going for a Center in the first round. I think it will be very difficult for anyone to build a case that this kid was the best player available at #24.
from the house that Red Jesus built
I also don’t feel that way. Granted, a two-way center was also available in Reilly, but personally Johansson seemed safer and more hockey IQ to me. I don’t think size should be a concern really, especially not if the guys on the roster make up one of the biggest teams in the league already. It’s not how big you are, but how big you play. I would’ve preferred Josefson (ugh…Devils…), but I think this is a solid pick.
I have to disagree here – I think O’Reilly was pretty much the safest pick in the draft outside of the top 10-15
You like him because of his character, but I can’t consider a guy with such ugly skating “safe” or a “lock” for the NHL. If his skating is that bad then he really only projects to be a heart and soul 3rd line guy at best and I’m not sure I want to be settling for 3rd line upside in the first round. Don’t get me wrong, I love the intangibles and we need a guy like that, but if you have such bad skating…
In those highlights, it looks like he’s having a hell of a lot of fun. That smile is infectious.
by Gould Old Days on Jun 26, 2009 11:37 PM EDT reply actions
I’m just happy I’m not a flyers fan tonight…
Strange as it sounds, we do own TVs in Russia - Simeon Varlamov
I would agree with that. When I heard Pronger was going to Philly, I was just thinking, okay good for them. Then I heard what they gave Anaheim in return.
They told GMGM that they wanted Carlson, a goalie, a guy out of the lineup, and something else for Pronger.
When I saw what the Flyers gave up I figured that would be about what they wanted from us. No thanks. PHI is going to be a beast next year but they better win soon because their pond is thin.
I’m not even convinced of the first part. I think it’s particularly hard to buy a championship in the NHL using this kind of approach. Honestly, wouldn’t surprise me at all if Philly misses the playoffs next year. Plenty of talent on paper, but I’m not sure it comes together well. And they still don’t have a goalie!
by Gould Old Days on Jun 27, 2009 12:05 AM EDT up reply actions
I’d be shocked if they don’t make the playoffs. They very well may not win the East but they have so much scoring and now can put Pronger/Timmonen/Coburn out on the ice at all times. Emery just has to be what Theodore was this year to get them into the playoffs.
The problem will be when they get to the playoffs (see Theo, 2009 game 1)
by Moonage Daydream on Jun 27, 2009 8:47 AM EDT up reply actions
The problem will be when they get to the playoffs (see Theo, 2009 game 1)
“Problem” on someone else’s blog, not this one! : ] Why do I get the feeling that we’ll be seeing JT60 in Flyers Orange and Black during next season’s playoffs?
With Pronger in the East now, we’ll need to rest Greenie 4 times next season instead of just one or two (or risk him running out of shoulders)
by war_capitals on Jun 29, 2009 12:05 PM EDT up reply actions
I don’t know that the Caps and Flyers are going to want to deal with each other at the deadline this year. Both are going to be challenging for top spots in the East and I don’t know how much GMGM is going to want to help plug PHI holes. The Flyers also are going to have no cap space so they’ll have to move someone out to fit Theo’s salary.
They told GMGM that they wanted Carlson, a goalie, a guy out of the lineup, and something else for Pronger.
It’s funny, when I was in my car and heard about the Pronger trade, my first reaction was “Damn McPhee, why can’t you make a move like that”? Then I found out what Philly gave up and I was thanking George for not being as dumb as Holmgren. And when I heard what Anaheim was asking for from the Caps, I started laughing. Philly should be better next season, but they still have a big question mark in goal and then they have to resign Pronger to a mega-contract that will once again put them in cap hell. The Flyers remind me of Paris Hilton. They’re always making news, but usually for the wrong reason.
and then they have to resign Pronger to a mega-contract that will once again put them in cap hell
And they’ll have to do it quickly, because he turns 35 this year.
Philly still has problems. A) they do not have an NHL goaltender under contract, and even if they sign Martin Biron and/or Antero Niittymaki, are those two the tandem that can lead the Flyers to a Cup? yeah, opponents might only get 20-25 shots a game, but if they’re scoring on 12 percent of them, the Flyers aren’t going far. B) They are hard against the cap. They still need to move players to accommodate a goaltender with a pulse. Do they move Briere now? For what? Who wants that contract ($6.5M/year through 2014-2015)?
If you've read this far...seek help.
by ThePeerless on Jun 27, 2009 10:00 AM EDT up reply actions
The Caps knew before the draft started who they would select at 24 if he was available
If you've read this far...seek help.
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| GP | W | L | OTL | PT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Florida
|
53 | 25 | 17 | 11 | 61 |
|
Washington
|
54 | 28 | 21 | 5 | 61 |
|
Winnipeg
|
56 | 26 | 24 | 6 | 58 |
|
Tampa Bay
|
53 | 23 | 24 | 6 | 52 |
|
Carolina
|
55 | 20 | 25 | 10 | 50 |
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