Was bored and felt inspired, why not do a presser?

Gabriel Johnson spoke to the media today in Anchorage about a couple of subjects, in this instance the upcoming S48 SHL Draft and the SMJHL playoffs. Normally reserved when speaking to the media, Johnson did not mince words in his answers in this interview.

Transcript of Presser

Question #1: Hey Gabriel, first question. How do you feel about how this season has gone as a whole for you and the Anchorage Armada?

GJ: I think it had its ups and downs, but overall I would say we all feel satisfied about the regular season. Finishing above the bottom-4 was a good accomplishment, but it doesn’t take a genius to see we lacked consistency. Of course though it’s probably a bad time for you to ask me this, because the real season is just starting. You’ll have to get back to me with that question after the playoffs.

Question #2: Gabriel, after being a very lesser-scouted SMJHL prospect, you’re now being touted as a shoe-in for the top 10 of the SHL draft, maybe even top-5. How does it feel seeing yourself generate so much hype now?

GJ: I mean, it’s nice but it doesn’t really matter does it? Scouts see what they see in all the different players and if they like my game, that’s great, but I can’t say it’s my main focus right now. We have an absolutely massive playoff series coming up, which is easily the biggest moment of my season by far, so to be honest I don’t feel like the draft or the SHL is a good topic of discussion at the moment.

Question #3: Word is you’ve been scouted by a number of SHL teams who want to make you their top pick. Does that not give a huge sense of motivation?

GJ: I mean look when I get drafted it will be great. When I talk to other teams, it’s great. But my focus will only be on the draft once the season is done. It doesn’t matter if teams are beginning to show interest right now because I am an Anchorage player wanting to contribute at the most important part of Anchorage’s season. I can respond to these questions once we’re done with the playoffs.

Question #4: What SHL teams have you been in contact with?

GJ: Yeah, you should know that it’s not my place to talk about that private info.

Question #5: How satisfied do you feel personally with how your rookie SMJHL season has gone?

GJ: Like I said earlier, it’s not the best time for me to comment on stuff like that because our season isn’t over and we don’t plan on it being over until we lift the Four-Star. We start the playoffs tomorrow, so there’s gonna be lots of time for reflecting on the season once that’s said and done.

Question #6: So obviously on Anchorage you have a large pool of promising rookies who project to be regular SHLers in the future. What are your takes on your fellow newcomers in the locker room and where do you project them going?

[Gabriel clearly showed he wasn’t a fan of this particular question]

GJ: I mean of all the questions in this interview I don’t wanna answer, this one takes the cake. How is it my place to make these assessments? I’m just a player who focuses on helping out the team while also developing myself personally. I don’t really understand how you can just expect me to sit here and go “Yeah Jonas [Larsen] does this really well but needs to improve on this or this, I bet he’ll go whatever round”? You should ask them or our scouts this. Just because scouts rank me highly doesn’t mean I’m some sort of expert on all aspects of the game. The boys in our locker room are a great group of guys who can all make it far, maybe further than me, and it would be great to play with any of them in the SHL down the line. Right now, though, I guarantee you that they also wouldn’t like to answer all these questions about themselves when we all have a massive playoff series against Vancouver coming up. I don’t want to talk about the Draft anymore until after we’re done in the playoffs.

Question #7: Question about the playoffs this time. This Vancouver Whalers team dominated the Armada in the regular season, sweeping the season series 5-0. How do you approach a playoff series against a team that you haven’t been able to solve once this season?

GJ: Well we all know about the record and we also know it gets parroted around a lot despite it not telling the whole story. All of those games were close and hard-fought, and even though we lost them all we could’ve come out on top just as easily in all 5 of them. We’ve been evaluating how the games have gone and where we went wrong in those five games, and spirits are high. People can say what they want about the 0-5, but we know in the locker room that we can give them a hell of a series, and I think come out on top when all’s said and done.

Question #8: What new approaches to the game did you guys see were needed for this series?

GJ: I mean, the tactics aren’t very convincing if they’re out in the open before the game even happens. Just to fill space, how about I just say we plan on giving 110%, putting pucks to the net, keeping our feet moving and outworking them.

Gabriel closed off the interview by saying “Before I get another question about the draft, I’ll call it done here. I’ll likely see you guys after the playoffs” before quickly exiting the conference room.

My thoughts on the conference, and Gabe Johnson in general:

I think Johnson was displaying a lot of maturity in this interview. For someone who I know (from personally interviewing him) was very nervous heading into the season, Gabe really has developed a calculated and passionate mentality. To be honest, I was quite surprised about the barrage of draft questions that were thrown at Johnson; I think that due to Gabe being well-spoken and open to all questions generally, a bunch of these reporters saw the opportunity for early draft report scoops. Gabe handled the questions professionally, while also spicing it up with some youthful passion. The irony of Johnson’s insistence on not discussing the draft is that his responses will almost certainly raise his profile in the eyes of SHL scouts. A good mentality is every bit as (if not even more) important as a strong skillset when it comes to hockey, and over the season Johnson has developed strong prowess in both fields. He only got 13 points across the 50 games this season, but he has shown a strong game sense, as well as loads of drive and determination towards eliminating the weaknesses in his game. I would personally consider him an absolute lock for a top 7-10 pick, if not even higher.

There is a lot of excitement in the Armada camp leading up to their opening playoff matches tomorrow or Thursday, and we will see if Johnson and Anchorage can cause a few shocks!

-gwdjohnson

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