It would appear that the Lightning are about to add another Spokane Chiefs alumni to the organizational depth chart. An un-drafted, undersized forward who is racking up points like nobody’s business. Where have we seen that before?
SWX is reporting that the Lightning are set to sign center Tyler Johnson to a standard 3-year entry-level contract. Johnson currently leads the Western Hockey League with 47 goals, and is 2nd in the league with 105 points.
At 5’9″ and somewhere above 165 pounds in weight, it’s not surprising that Johnson was overlooked by NHL scouts. But much like the Tampa Bay Lightning‘s own undersized star, Martin St. Louis, Johnson makes up for it with hockey smarts, strong two-way play, and speed. He had attended the Minnesota Wild‘s rookie camp last summer and had a feature article done on him.
Johnson did play two seasons alongside Spokane alumni and Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Dustin Tokarski. He also played for the gold medal winning 2010 USA World Junior Championship team.
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