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Logan Johnston got noticed most when he dropped his gloves last season as a first-year player with the Penticton Vees.
This season, the Vees coaching staff and the recently turned 18-year-old forward from Penticton are hoping he can do more damage by keeping them on.
“Logan did very well as a rookie and now we want to expand his role,” said Vees general manager and head coach Fred Harbinson. “Logan‘s got a lot of promise as a power forward in this league and we‘re going to give him every opportunity to fulfill that.”
Johnston, the son of former Penticton junior star Lance Johnston, has been training exceptionally hard this summer as he prepares to play a more offensive role with the 2009-10 Vees.
“I want to be a player,” said the six-foot, 200-pounder, who played one year of junior B in Princeton before joining the Vees. “If I wanted to be a fighter, I‘d take up boxing.”
Harbinson sees Johnston emerging much like Vernon Vipers veteran Chris Crowell, who was essentially a role player who did a lot of fighting until becoming a top-two line power forward last season.
“Everyone knows Logan‘s toughness, but what gets lost is the fact he has a good skill set and one of the heaviest shots on our team,” said Harbinson. “He‘s got a good head for the game and he‘s got excellent pedigree coming from a hockey family.”
Harbinson said Johnston is following a similar path to that of Curtis McKenzie, who blossomed in his second season with the Vees last year and is bound for University of Miami @ Ohio this fall. McKenzie was just picked in the sixth round of the NHL Entry Draft by Dallas on Saturday.
“We‘re not looking for Logan to change his style,” said Harbinson. “When he‘s physical and banging and quick on the forecheck, it makes him a huge asset. We saw enough late last season to believe he can be a reliable penalty killer as well, and he‘s going to get a chance to play on one of our top lines.”
Johnston, who had two goals, five points and a team-leading 92 penalty minutes last season, said he has been working hard on improving his skating. He has been training with his good friend McKenzie in recent weeks, and acknowledges their styles are similar.
“I want to put some more pucks in the net for sure,” said Johnston. “C-Mac was able to take that part of his game to another level last season. It‘s nice to know I‘m going to get the chance, but there are no guarantees. I‘m excited, but I‘m not feeling any added pressure.”
Johnston acknowledged he‘s come a long way since cracking the Vees lineup as a fourth-line role player last fall.
“It felt really fast out there at first,” said the Penticton minor hockey product. “I just did whatever I could to help the team.”
That something was trading blows with some of the league‘s toughest hombres, the majority of which had a considerable edge in size and experience on Johnston.
“It was tough going into Vernon knowing you‘d likely be going up against big, strong guys like Crowell and (Kyle) Bigos,” said Johnston. “I‘ve got maybe four whiskers on my face and I‘d be going up against men who had played in this league for a few years. I don‘t mind fighting, but I don‘t necessarily go looking for it.”
Johnston said he didn‘t get hurt in any of his fights last season, but did take a sound beating from a veteran when he was a 16-year-old rookie in Princeton.
“That‘s one you don‘t forget,” he said.
And while Johnston has little interest in becoming a boxer, he is doing some boxing training during his fitness routine at The Gym.
“I don‘t mind getting hit, but we felt it was important to learn how to dodge punches better,” reasoned Johnston.
Johnston‘s Western Hockey League rights are owned by the Spokane Chiefs, but he‘s not likely to play there anytime soon.
“I‘m leaning towards going the (college) scholarship route, but you try to keep your options open,” said Johnston. “I don‘t want to shut any doors. (Spokane) understands my situation.”
For this season anyway, Johnston will play in his hometown, where he insists there is no extra pressure to perform.
“I‘ve billeted before (in Princeton), but it‘s definitely nice to be at home,” said Johnston. “The most important thing is we‘ve got a great program here.”
Harbinson is more than happy to have a reliable player with a great upside like Johnston.
“We want to have better balance on our forward lines this year,” said Harbinson. “We want to have a scorer, a set-up man and a guy to open up space on every line. Logan‘s a great teammate and he‘ll be a big part of what we do.”
Echoing the sentiments of all the returning Vees, Johnston said he can‘t wait for training camp and the start of the new season after the disappointment of losing to Vernon in the second round of the playoffs last year.
“We definitely have our sights set on taking them down,” said Johnston. “We‘ve got a great group coming back and (Harbinson) has recruited a lot of top prospects. We feel like we‘re going to have a great season.”
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