Favorites About Colorado Avalanche Erik Johnson

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Colorado Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson is not your typical favorite on the team. Fans tend to gravitate toward star center Matt Duchene, captain Gabriel Landeskog and wonder kid Nathan MacKinnon.

However, in this Avs New Age, Erik Johnson has always been my favorite. I love the above players, but there’s just something about EJ.

Actually, there’s lots about EJ. Let’s look at some of the qualities that make him… well, perhaps an acquired taste.

Erik Johnson’s Leadership Abilities

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson is a great leader on the team. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

EJ doesn’t wear a letter. He did in St. Louis, and he did for a little while for the Avalanche, but he’s not wearing a letter now. As head coach Patrick Roy pointed out, that hardly matters when it comes to leadership qualities.

By all accounts, until his surgery took him out of the game, Johnson was the Avalanche’s best player all year. Roy said it. Announcers said it. Hockey analysts said it. In fact, he was the only Avalanche to get invited to the All Star Weekend. Unfortunately, he couldn’t go because of his knee surgery.

And Erik Johnson did it while he was in pain. That aforementioned knee surgery was due to recurring pain. However, he had worked supremely hard in the off-season with renowned trainer Andy O’Brien, losing weight and increasing his stamina. With that increased stamina came increased ice time for the Avalanche — he led the team, usually playing between 22 to 25 minutes. EJ thrived. He still has more goals on the team than any other defenseman — and he’s missed 23 games. There was even Norris Trophy talk.

Johnson works so well with the media. Not only does he know the right thing to say, he speaks with candor. He also gives some of the best hockey explanations — when he retires from the Avalanche at 55, he ought to think about teaching hockey.

I don’t know how Johnson is in the locker room, of course. However, I guess he’s as passionate as he is on the ice. I suspect he’s the kind of guy whose approval you want. And I imagine he uses his humor because…

Erik Johnson’s Snarky Sense of Humor

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson is a star on the site and an All Star in the NHL. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

EJ makes me laugh, and everyone loves to laugh, right?

I’d say Johnson must be a hoot to hang with, except he’s got that dry, snarky sense of humor that makes fun of everything — and everyone — around him.

How about last season when the playoffs started and everyone was raving about how great Nathan MacKinnon was for being so young. A reporter asked Johnson what surprised him about MacKinnon, and he replied, straight-faced, “It surprises me that he has to dye his playoff beard.”

He must like ribbing MacKinnon, because check this tweet from the preseason:

The best line ever. Tangs & @GabeLandeskog92 on the wings centered by @Mackinnon9 in Quebec City! pic.twitter.com/qOtp6Kj3YV
— Erik Johnson (@6ErikJohnson) September 26, 2014

Of course, if we’re going to get started on snarky tweets, the be all end all is the one he tweeted about TJ Oshie after his heroics at the Olympics. The whole world was singing Oshie’s praises, and EJ counters with the following:

I'm not sure what's more impressive, @OSH74 shootout performance today or that he was able to do this! #gamer pic.twitter.com/R6WZlfJbz2
— Erik Johnson (@6ErikJohnson) February 15, 2014

That one’s a classic — it went viral on both Twitter and Tumblr.

I get the feeling EJ’s a real man’s man, so perhaps it’s no surprise that he was befuddled by some of the optional plumbing in Montreal, Quebec:

Just one of the many perks Montreal has to offer. pic.twitter.com/BHKclE0ss2
— Erik Johnson (@6ErikJohnson) March 18, 2014

Of course, this is the man who was a cowboy for Halloween: “I did not wear the ass chaps, though.” (The best part of that was a minute later he talked about being Borat another year and rocking a thong — how that’s better, I don’t know.) I could fill a whole post with nothing but EJ tweets, but I want to get to his hockey. So, I’ll leave you with this one, just to show he can laugh at himself, too:

Erik Johnson’s Style of Hockey

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson is a very powerful skater. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Before EJ, what I knew of hockey defenseman were they were either super offensive minded like Sandis Ozolinsh or shut-down D like Adam Foote. I had no idea what a two-way defenseman could do.

Enter Erik Johnson. He is one big player — 6-foot-4, around 230 pounds. And he can use his size. If he checks a opponent, that player goes down. In fact, Johnson is so strong on his skates, I regularly see big opponents check EJ, and they go down. He’s also so strong on skates that he can barrel through two or three opponents with seeming ease.

Johnson’s also got a lot of skill with his stick. Ok, he’s been known to get a little slashy with his stick. However, he can keep the puck in the offensive zone seemingly 90 percent of the time. Maybe it’s that Condor’s reach.

And then there’s his skating. He is a powerful strong, graceful skater. Predatory. In fact, that’s how he got his most recent nickname, Condor. It was during the home game against the Ottawa Senators. At one point color analyst Peter McNab remarked that Johnson was skating like a condor. Altitude TV’s Kyle Keefe interviewed Johnson between periods, and asked what he though of McNab’s comment.

Johnson just smiled in slight confusion and admitted, “I’m not sure I know what that is.”

A nickname was born.

Here’s an example of Johnson’s skating, a coast to coast play that results in a power play goal:

By the way, in the long stretch, Johnson is faster than Matt Duchene. No joke, in a game against the New York Rangers the two took off down the ice to catch an opponent on a breakaway. Johnson started behind Duchene, overtook him and reached the blue line first.

And then there was that time he saved the game against the Minnesota Wild in Game 1 of the playoffs:

One aspect of his skating that I especially appreciate is the finesse it allows him to add to his defensive play. When he plays man-on-man defense, there’s no getting rid of him. He follows you right at your elbow, no matter what kind of moves you try.

In short, Erik Johnson is the cornerstone of the Colorado Avalanche’s defense, and all in all, we’re lucky to have our Condor.

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