OverDrive - Johnson on his season with the Blue Jackets, his skill set on the ice and the experience in Columbus

Episode Date: April 4, 2025

Columbus Blue Jackets Forward Kent Johnson joined OverDrive to discuss his season with the Blue Jackets, his skill set on the ice, the leadership of the players on the ice, Dean Evason's coaching impact, the matchup against the Maple Leafs and more.

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Made in Canada, played in Canada. On the free iHeart app and i heart radio dot c from the trail smoke eaters and the columbus blue jackets johnson a do it can't and get a lot of the intro of uh... love yet i would travel absolutely, well, cause Ray Ferraro comes on with us all the time and Ray is, I'm sure you've, I'm sure you're aware of Ray and Ray probably tells you all about his records whenever you meet up with Ray. You know, Ray's pretty humble actually, but no, I've heard all about his records and the

boys when we played in trail, like I hadn't met Ray at that time and we all kind of talked about him and how legendary he was in the city for hockey so that's pretty cool. Yeah what's that rink like? Noodles you have kind of a recollection to an extent of it being a really gritty rink like the whole. I just feel like I feel like it might have been the last rink that allowed smoking inside the rink but maybe not. I might be mistaking it, but a lot of those

gritty little rinks, they don't mess around. Yeah, no, I think you got a good description, but no, I love playing there. The ice was unreal always. The boards are a little bit more rectangular, not too round, which is kind of funny. I think you'd get some bad balance off the board they call that can make a balance itself the ad on real such a fun uh... fun atmosphere great and so it was uh... vote on planet yeah i would throw you off a noodle soup your

well here on the back of your life you can plan your power play around uh... a weird corner like that cross-cornered out there but it's going to go right to the middle of the net or something like that. If the boards are not rounded, they're squared off. I love that. Just a dump and chase and it comes right back at you. It doesn't ring around the boards. Yeah, it was hard to rim it actually. I remember back then I never rim pox because you couldn't really do it at home. So it was funny. That's great.

Well, you guys, you're having a really fun season for us to track. You guys score a million goals seemingly every night. You're having a career year. You're up to 22 goals. That's a career year for you, 50 points. What has clicked so well for you in particular this year, Kent? Yeah, I think just our team as a whole, obviously the staff coming in mid-grade and just the guys gelling together.

Obviously I think a lot of guys taking next steps in their careers, obviously we're a young team so I think that's kind of what's natural and what you hope for as a young guy and I conclude myself. So yeah, it's been good. At one point, I feel like Marchenko had like 20 goals and one assist. Now he's rounded out his assist game. But speak to how good of a player some of these young guys are on your team. I mean, you've been fantastic.

You're only 22 years old. And a guy like Sean Monahan, who's been been a veteran guy he's come in and stabilized but you've got some skill, Fantilly's a local guy here and he's been great so is it kinda you're all kinda growing up together and kinda hitting your stride early in your careers? Yeah, I know it definitely feels that way and yeah, like you said we've got some great betters as well not just us young guys but yeah I think

definitely we've gotten to a point where we can help out more. So yeah, definitely a great group, so just very grateful to be a part of it. With Kent Johnson, and you guys are playing for something here, I mean it's obviously scoreboard watching every single night coming down the stretch, and you're right there with Montreal, with the Rangers. What is it been like for you to play in that kind of an atmosphere where every single game is so important and you guys do have kind of a light at the end of the tunnel here that you're legitimately chasing a playoff spot on the line?

Yeah, I know it's really fun. It's crazy down the stretch here. We play almost every other night. Just the highs and lows. A couple wins here, a couple losses and what not. It means so much. It's definitely really fun. It feels like playoff hockey. I can't complain. So when you roll into Toronto, you've got JVR on your team. James Van Riemstijk was a lifelong leaf. Or not a lifelong leaf, but a long-term leaf. Love playing here. He was one of the top 100 Leafs, right Jonas? I'm pretty sure he was. He was on that list when they came out with it.

That would have been seven, eight years ago. Do you ride with JVR when you get into a town like this? Like what are the plans? Who do you go out with for dinner tonight? Is it a veteran? Do the younger guys stick together? What's your plan tonight? Yeah, we actually had a team dinner tonight is it is it a veteran to the the younger guys stick together what what's your plan tonight uh... yeah i feel like you know tonight so we have pretty much i have one other it up and i thought it'll open that guy got family or not so uh... that's uh... no no tough decision that uh... apple came tonight so that's gonna be nice

yet tell j vr to get you state and Liberty and pick up a new suit Yeah, I know I've seen it well, he's got like 70 suits he barely Really has the same suit twice. So it's I get said in Toronto He'd always get hooked up with good deals or freebies or whatever. So the benefit of playing in Toronto, I guess. Absolutely. Ken, I remember when he played here, he had this backpack full of vitamins and all these different things. Does he still carry that around?

Oh yeah. Yeah, I know he's dialed in. So it's pretty funny, guys. Always joke about that. But no, he's an awesome. I've gotten really close to him. It's been fun to get to know him and talk about old stories uh... you know back in

his days and police or fires or whatever and then just such a a great guy and a player still uh... talk about the effect of dean evison coming in and you know it there's a lot of obviously spent a lot of teams have had success but we've talked on the show several times out how he should be uh... in the at least running for coach of the year of how great he's got you guys playing

and playing together and and change the systems a little bit how big of an effect has he had on your team and on you personally? Yeah, I know obviously a massive effect. I definitely think you know deservingly he's getting that talk and yeah so I mean for me obviously to give me a great opportunity off the start No, you know just I think you know understanding my game and how to get the most out of me. So yeah, it's been great Yeah, well listen, we're looking forward to a barn bird or tomorrow night. It seems like you guys, you know You guys score a lot of goals. It's been a lot of fun You're playing with a lot of energy again a a lot of young players on this team and you

guys are chasing something and obviously saw the Leafs as well. They're chasing that top seed in the Atlantic division. So good luck tomorrow night. Enjoy the town tonight and we'll do it again down the road. Thank you for this. Awesome. Thanks for having me. You got it.

There's Kent Johnson. And that just happened with me, Vashi Capellos, Canada Decides 2025. Kent Johnson and. the polls and the momentum. That just happened with Vashikopelos. Canada decides 2025. Fresh every Friday. Stream on your schedule with the free iHeartRadio app.