Favorites About Colorado Avalanche Erik Johnson
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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