As Toronto Maple Leafs management continues to reshape its struggling roster, they locked up another quality offensive prospect Thursday by signing forward Andreas Johnson.
The diminutive dangler joins a promising stable of Swedish prospects in the Leafs system including William Nylander, Petter Granberg and Viktor Loov.
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Johnson, a skilled speedster who possesses serious upside, has shown excellent progression since being selected late in the 2013 draft. The Leafs are hoping he can join the likes of countrymen Henrik Zetterberg and Patric Hornqvist as seventh-round picks that turn out to be hidden gems.
With that in mind, here’s what you need to know about Andreas Johnson.
Age: 20
From: Gavle, Sweden
Height: 5-foot-9
Weight: 172 pounds
Position: Right Wing
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 202nd overall by Maple Leafs in 2013
Contract status: Three-year, entry-level deal. Set to be RFA in 2018
He has been tearing it up in the Swedish Hockey League…
Johnson has spent the last two seasons with Frolunda’s senior squad in the SHL where he has progressed at a rapid pace. In 2013-14 he had 15 goals, nine assists in 44 games and was named the league’s Rookie of the Year. He followed that up by improving his numbers in all offensive categories in 2014-15 finishing with a team-high 22 goals and adding 13 assists in 55 games. For a 20-year-old to put up numbers like this in the Swedish League is impressive. His 22 goals ranked fifth in the SHL and was first with nine game-winning goals, proving he can bury the puck in pressure situations.
Here are some highlights from his awarding-winning rookie campaign.
He will likely remain in Sweden for the time being…
Leafs management will want him to get acclimatized to the North American game by spending some time in the American Hockey League with the Toronto Marlies, but that’s unlikely to happen right away next season.
A week before signing his deal with the Leafs, Johnson told Swedish media he plans on staying in Sweden for the 2015-16 campaign and confirmed that Friday. Johnson knows he has to continue to develop on and off the ice and he said via his team’s website that he feels it will be positive for him to remain with Frolunda for another year.
However, this doesn’t mean he won’t play for a Toronto team at some point next season. Fellow Leafs prospect Nylander did the same thing last year, splitting 2014-15 between MODO in the SHL and the Marlies. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman told Dean Blundell & Co. Friday he feels Johnson has a decent shot at breaking into the NHL in the future.
Johnson will attend Leafs’ development camp in July.
He can come up big in a shootout…
Apart from the 2013-14 season where they went 9-4 in the shootout, the Leafs have historically performed poorly in the post-overtime skills competition. Johnson would be able to help in that area when you consider he has moves like this in his arsenal.
He won silver with Sweden at the 2014 WJC…
One year before Nylander lit it up for Sweden at the Air Canada Centre in 2015, Johnson helped lead his country to a second place finish, registering six points in seven games at the 2014 tournament in Malmo.
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