CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Ross Johnston has accomplished his first goal of the NHL season.
The 25-year-old Suffolk native has made the New York Islanders’ 23-man roster for opening night.
“It’s another step to stay here each and every day, and you have to work at that,” he said Wednesday night.
“I just want to be an NHL player, night in and night out. . . I am going to do what it takes to make that happen.”
Johnston made his NHL debut on April 10, 2016. He returned to the AHL in 2016-17 before getting into 24 games with the Islanders in 2017-18. He signed a four-year NHL deal with the Isles in July 2018. He got into 17 games last season but was a healthy scratch at times.
Johnston called 2018-19 a development year for him.
“I had lots of open dialogue with the coaches and management here. It’s all about progressing as a player,” he said. “I believe I am still developing, and when you keep developing, you’re going to earn more and more ice time, more and more faith (from) the coaches. . . I think they want to put me in the right situations and with that comes time.”
A year ago, Johnston had to get to know the new coaching staff, led by Barry Trotz, but said this time around he feels more comfortable with the team’s system and the way it wants to play.
Johnston is a big strong man who grew up on the family farm. He’s six-foot-five and 235 pounds.
But when the Islanders brought back Matt Martin for the 2018-19 season, after two campaigns with the Toronto Maple Leafs, some wondered if there was room for both of them on the roster.
“Barry is not taking Matty Martin out of the lineup just because he loves that fourth line so much with (Casey) Cizikas and (Cal) Clutterbuck,” said Andrew Gross, who covers the Islanders for Newsday.
“I had real questions, talent or not, whether Ross Johnston fit into the overall picture of how they were going to construct their roster, because I thought there was a little bit of duplication with Matt Martin. . .
“Barry really likes Ross. He sees improvements in Ross’s skating, and he sees Ross as a guy who can give him a little bit of versatility as to what side he plays on. He’s not locked in, in Barry’s mind, to just playing a fourth-line role. But, again, the issue is how much playing time is he going to get?”
Johnston said to start the year, he sees himself playing a similar role to last year but hopes to keep improving himself daily and proving to the coaching staff he deserves to be in the lineup.
He received some good feedback from the staff about how his camp went. It comes after an off-season of training in the mornings with David (Eli) MacEachern and working on the farm in the afternoon. On Fridays, he worked with boxing coach Stephane Galaise. While the boxing part doesn’t hurt, Johnston said it was the complete workout he appreciated.
View from above
Here’s is some of what Newsday reporter Andrew Gross said regarding New York Islanders winger and Suffolk native Ross Johnston.
“In the Islanders’ eyes, Ross just gets better and better. No matter how I say this it can be construed wrong, but he’s becoming a more complete player and not just his physical presence that is going to go out and knock people around. . . He is never going to be a 15-goal scorer in this league, but I do think he has surprisingly soft hands around the crease.”
He also spent time this summer working on his skating. With the game getting faster and faster all the time, all players are trying to improve their footspeed.
“My first few steps are quite a bit quicker,” Johnston said. “I feel I have a lot more pop at the start of this year than I did last year.”
The Islanders begin the regular season tonight by hosting the Washington Capitals at 8 p.m. Atlantic. When the former Charlottetown Islander and Summerside D. Alex MacDonald Ford Western Capital gets into the lineup, he will have as a teammate a mature young man who grew up an hour away in Summerside in 19-year-old defenceman Noah Dobson.
“When you walk in the dressing room in the morning and you see a familiar face, and not only a familiar face, but a familiar face from the same area as you, it’s pretty special,” Johnston said. “I’m happy to have Noah around. He’s impressing everyone here. Not only the staff, but all the players speak about how mature and what a great kid he is.”
It won’t be the first time two Islanders played together on the same NHL team.
Forward Al MacAdam, defenceman Bob Stewart and goalie Gary Simmons played for the California Seals in 1974-75 and 1975-76. Forwards Gerard (Turk) Gallant and John Chabot played for the Detroit Red Wings in 1987-88 to 1990-91. Forwards Brad Richards and Steve Ott played for the Dallas Stars from 2007-08 to 2010-11.
– With files from Journal Pioneer sports editor Jason Simmonds.
Related links:
• Islanders breakdown of forwards as 2019-20 NHL season is set to begin
• New York Islanders Kept Ross Johnston On the Roster for a Reason
• Ross Johnston seeking role with New York Islanders as camp begins today
• Ross Johnston's profile on Islanders website
• Islanders announce 23-man opening night roster
