THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: Erik Johnson is getting close to receiving full clearance on his injured right knee and should return to the ice 100 percent very soon. In the brief time you’ve been able to see Johnson play, what impact do you think his return will have on the Blues next season, both offensively and defensively? And, do you believe Johnson will someday live up to his No. 1 overall draft status?

JEREMY RUTHERFORD
Johnson’s return should have a significant impact on the Blues’ defense. He’s exactly what they were missing last season, a defenseman who could naturally move the puck and also tee off from the point. As a rookie in 2007-08, Johnson led the defense with 33 points and he was only getting better at the end of the season. The year off because of the knee injury was terrible, but Johnson said Tuesday that he’s used the time to build up his body. He played at 222 as a rookie, got up to 240 a few months ago and said he plans to be 227 by training camp. He never would have had that time without the injury. Johnson also said Tuesday that he’s VERY motivated by people saying the “lost” year will hurt his development. So he’s healthy and all of the ingredients are there for him to get back in the picture.

As far as living up to his No. 1 draft status, I’m of the belief that unless you’ve shown that you can’t be that type of player, then there’s still a chance he can live up to it. In the time he’s been on the ice, he’s not shown anything to make people think otherwise.

BERNIE MIKLASZ
Erik Johnson will be a great player, a true cornerstone defenseman. He can do it all. He’s tough. He has excellent mobility for a big man. He’s an accurate passer. He’s smart and can read the ice. He has the kind of shot you want on the point from the power play. The knee inury was a setback, but he’ll benefit from the adversity. He used the time to build himself up and become bigger and stronger. The time away from the ice made him realize how much he loves hockey, so in that regard he’ll be even more devoted to the quest of maximizing his talent to have a sensational career. When I talked to Johnson the other day, I was just very impressed by his maturity level. He’s still a young man, but he really grew up during his time off. This will be a very hungry and determined hockey player when the Blues gather for training camp in several months.

TOM TIMMERMANN
I think it’s tough for any defenseman to live up to a No. 1 overall status. As a top pick you’re judged by the people you were chosen ahead of, which in Johnson’s case is Jordan Staal, Jonathan Toews, Nicklas Backstrom and Phil Kessel. One of those guys may well help a team to a Stanley Cup before Johnson does. If you think of a No. 1 pick as being a franchise-changing, best guy in the league, well, the hockey cognoscenti may appreciate defensemen, but not Jacques Q. Public, which means it will be tough to live up to that status. In Johnson’s lifetime, one defensman has been an MVP, Chris Pronger. In my slightly longer lifetime, there have been two, Pronger and Bobby Orr.

But Johnson can be very, very good and his impact will be large because he bumps everyone down. What would he have meant this season? It means that in the series with the Canucks, the Blues wouldn’t have been playing Mike Weaver or Jay McKee. (Probably Weaver.) Erik Johnson would be out there for 20+ minutes a night. He would get time on the power play, which obviously killed the team in the playoffs. He would get time on the PK. They will score more goals. They will allow fewer. I wish he played this season to get the playoff experience that all the other kids did.

DAN O’NEILL
I don’t think we have seen enough of Johnson to be able to predict whether he will live up to his status as the No. 1 overall pick the draft. I think he showed enough in the second half of his initial season (2007-08) to suggest he will be a solid NHL defenseman, but whether he will be the second coming of Al MacInnis remains to be seen.

That said, he addresses exactly what the Blues need, a big defenseman with offensive transition skills and a hard shot. He certainly should help the power play. But I think a lot of people are assuming Johnson is going to pick up where he left off, I doubt that. I think he faces a significant transition period, just from a physical standpoint. On top of that, he still needs experience and time to develop. To be honest, it’s difficult to say exactly what people can expect to get from Johnson when he returns.

KEVIN WHEELER (Host of “Sports Open Line” on KMOX)
Assuming he stays healthy, Johnson will easily be the best offensive defensman on the Blues squad next season. Unless they make a trade for someone like, oh I don’t know, Chris Pronger. Johnson scored 33 points in 69 games in 2007-2008 despite the fact that he didn’t turn 20 until the end of March that season. That, by the way, led all Blues defensemen that year and would have led all Blues defensemen this past season too.

Once he’s back to 100 percent as a player, not just the health of his knee, he’ll be a major force as a guy who can move the puck two ways: passing it and skating with it. During our post-game shows late in Johnson’s rookie season Kelly Chase would marvel at how the kid just skated away from opposing forwards while bringing the puck out of the defensive zone and into the offensive zone.

Barring further injury there is no doubt in my mind that E.J. will live up to the hype and become an All-Star.

ANDY STRICKLAND (Hockeybuzz.com, KFNS)
The Blues getting a healthy Erik Johnson in the lineup will be huge. Most Blues fans have yet to see why this kid was chosen 1st overall back in 2006. We all know the Blues biggest weakness is on the back end and having a guy who can flat-out skate, shoot, and lug the puck up ice will do wonders for a team with lots of skill up front. Plus EJ is  the closest thing to Al Macinnis when it comes to possessing high-end vision in the offensive end. The Blues need a major upgrade when it comes to D-men who can make direct plays with the puck. Johnson will provide a lift especially in the offensive end.

Now with this being said, it would be foolish to assume he won’t be affected by missing an entire season after tearing his ACL. We can only assume he will rebound fine physically but losing a full year of maturation on the ice will take time to overcome.

In terms of him living up to his first overall status, this one is tough. In order to do this Johnson will have to prove he is the best player to be drafted in 2006. This won’t be easy considering Jonathan Toews, Jordan Staal, Nicklas Backstrom, Phil Kessel, Bryan Little, and Milan Lucic are each part of this terrific draft class. Johnson will be right there, but I just listed off some elite NHL players who should continue to be great for the next 10-15 years. It’s hard to say who will have the best career. We live in a Monday morning QB world so it’s easy to second guess, but people need to remember EJ was the consensus No. 1 pick heading into his draft year. As long as he stays determined and committed to being great, the Blues and their fans will be very happy with No. 6 for the next decade.

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: The Blackhawks ousted the Canucks in the Western Conference semifinals last night with a young team that many thought was a year or two away. “I’m not saying experience is overrated, but the fact is, we’re not just a young team, we’re a good team,” said young star blueliner Duncan Keith. What can the Blues take from watching this series as they head into next year?

BERNIE MIKLASZ:
The Blues need more good players, period. The Blackhawks are ahead of them in the developmental cycle, and this is a reminder that the Blues are still playing catch-up. And let’s not forget that Chicago has more resources and was able to supplement an exceptional youth movement by investing heavily in a couple of free agents. The Blues are on track. Chicago is just farther along. (Bernie has more on this in his blog this morning.)

DAN O’NEILL:
There is a discernible difference between the Blues and Blackhawks in terms of talent, especially on the backline, especially where it impacts offensive transition. The Blues simply did not have defenseman of Duncan Keith’s abilities this season, to use him as an example. The Blackhawks are a step ahead in that regard, but the Blues are getting there.
With their corps of young players, with a talent upgrade on defense, the Blues could be doing what the Blackhawks are doing by next season. Keep in mind St. Louis was 4-1-1 during the regular season against Chicago
So it’s a good news/bad news proposition. The good news is, the Blues can be inspired by what the Blackhawks have accomplished, the bad news is they have to get past the Blackhawks in the years ahead to win a Stanley Cup.

TOM TIMMERMANN:
Add to this that the Penguins were awfully young when they reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 2008 and it shows that youth can go some place in the NHL. I think there’s a difference in that the Blues have youngsters who can score goals while the Penguins and Blackhawks have youngsters who can score more goals. Really good puck moving defensemen are good only when they have players to move the puck too. So there’s reason for Blues fans to be optimistic for next season; turnarounds can come quickly, but it’s also no guarantee. The Blues’ rookies aren’t Crosby, Malkin and Fleury; are they Kane and Toews? We’ll see. But it’s also worth remembering that there exists a team called the Detroit Red Wings. I wouldn’t discount the importance of experience just yet.

JEREMY RUTHERFORD:
Other than learning how to put traffic in front of Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo, the Blues won’t learn anything from Chicago’s playoff win over Vancouver they didn’t already know, nor will it give them any more confidence they can win with a young team.
Yes, the Blues and ‘Hawks have been pathetic in recent years. Yes, they have been on similar paths, rebuilding through the draft. Yes, this is the year that both teams believed they could emerge. For those reasons, the teams are rightfully linked together.
But for this season anyway, any other comparisons should be thrown out the window. The Blackhawks didn’t deal with the number of key injuries the Blues dealt with this season. The ‘Hawks had their share of injuries, but nothing like the Blues losing Paul Kariya, Andy McDonald, T.J. Oshie, Eric Brewer and Erik Johnson. If you take Martin Havlat, Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg, Brent Seabrook and Brian Campbell out the Blackhawks’ lineup, they’re not playing in the Western Conference Finals. Even if the Blues had everyone healthy this season, they’re probably not as good as the Blackhawks, but they’re not far off.
Also, keep in mind that the Blues and Blackhawks are both young, but Chicago’s Patrick Kane (No. 1 overall pick in 2007) and Jonathan Toews (No. 3 in 2006) are the cream of the crop. If it weren’t for Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, Kane and Toews would be the face of the NHL. You can’t compare them to guys like Oshie (No. 24 in 2005), Patrik Berglund (No. 25 in 2006) or David Perron (No. 26 in 2007). You can compare Erik Johnson (No. 1 in 2006), but let Johnson get back on the ice.
With Johnson and with the rest of their full deck, the Blues can compete with the Blackhawks.

JEFF GORDON:

The big lesson is to stay the course. The Blackhawks stayed with their young skilled forwards and finally got the payoff. The Blues should resist any temptation to deal any of their high-end kids. These guys melded nicely during a months-long run toward the playoffs. Next spring, Patrik Berglund, T.J. Oshe and David Perron will all be better prepared to step up in postseason play. They other key for Chicago was their strong corps of offensive defensemen. That is an element the Blues lacked with Erik Johnson and Eric Brewer and Alex Pietrangelo still developing. The lack of a viable point threat undermined their power play against Vancouver. Expect a different story next spring.