Bye Aaron Johnson!!

Apparently I missed this, Aaron Johnson signed signed with the New York Islanders. And, it happened on the 12th and I just now read it...I feel shame. I enjoyed having Johnson on my team and wish him the best with the Islanders! Aaron signed a one year contract with the Islanders.

"Aaron is an important addition for the Islanders," said pro scouting director Ken Morrow. "He is a talented, dedicated player and, at 24 years old, he's just coming into his own as a defenceman.

Buh-Bye Smiley

Well, Scott Howson has decided Aaron Johnson is not in the mix for us Jackets. I am a little upset about it. We decided not to make him a qualifying offer. The Dispatch spoke to Howson about it saying, "It was a tough decision but (Johnson) was going to get a one-way contract in an arbitration hearing, and we just weren't comfortable with that decision. We like the player. That's not the issue, we weren't willing to sign a one-(way) contract at this time." (A one-(way) contract means he will get the same amount of money in the minors as he would in the NHL.) It's not that I am upset that Johnson is leaving, but you do get attached to these guys but when I think about what he did in the time he was here...he didn't do a lot. So, I am sure that Howson and Hitch chose the right thing. Svitov, Murray, Glencross, Tollefsen, Lindstrom, and Goertzen were all given qualifying offers. I'm not going to lie seeing Howson make a decision like this is really setting him apart from MacLean in a good way. And, I am confident that he made the correct decision. Now, I'm just wondering about Erikkson. Mr. Howson plans to offer long term contracts to Svitov, and Tollefsen which I think is great. Those 2 are great players especially Tollefsen who I even noticed developing over the course of the season.
I am pretty happy that we qualified Glencross too. I absolutely love that guy and it takes me back to the days when I was first falling in love with hockey. So I love seeing him down on the ice. Anyway, I'm proud of our organization and what they have done so far.

2001 Draft Picks

Round 1 ~ Pascal Leclaire

Round 2 ~ Tim Jackman
Round 2 ~ Kiel McLeod
Round 3 ~ Aaron Johnson
Round 3 ~ Per Mars
Round 5 ~ Cole Jarrett
Round 6 ~ Justin Aikins
Round 6 ~ Artem Vostrikov
Round 7 ~ Raffaele Sannitz
Round 8 ~ Ryan Bowness
Ryan 8 ~ Andrew Murray

I guess I have to say something nice about Passy. But, I can't think of a lot. He has a ton of potential and when he is on his game...he is a great goalie. But, then again he is injured most of the time. I am really hoping that he is not back as our #1 next season. I'm sure he won't be. Norrena has more than proven himself. Anyway, back to Passy like I said, tons of potential is injured most of the time. I think he is meant for the minors.

Tim Jackman has played 32 games in the NHL with 3 different clubs (Columbus, Phoenix, and Los Angeles) Jackman too seems to be built for the AHL...but maybe he needs some more time to develop as a player.

Keil McLeod finished up his WHL career and then went to the AHL where he spent 3 seasons. in 2005-2006 he moved from the AHL down to the ECHL where he completed the 2006-2007 season.




Ahh then there is Aaron Johnson...he has played 116 NHL games. And, has tallied, 7 goals and 19 assists, with 93 penalty minutes. It's not that bad for a defenseman. He has bounced around from the AHL to the NHL. He is still a very young defenseman and everybody knows they take a while to develop so I think if we stick with him we will be a great asset to our organization.




Cole Jarrett has played 1 game in the NHL with the New York Islanders and spent last year in the German Hockey League (DEL). He played 3 seasons in the AHL before making it to the big times...and then he left.

Pers Mars is one of the guys that just randomly quit hockey. Justin Aikins finished college and then went on to play in the ECHL. Last season he played for the Phoenix Roadrunners. Artem Vostrikov never played in the minors or the NHL. I have no idea what he is doing now. Raffaele Sannitz split a season between the AHL and the ECHL...and has now moved on to the Swiss-A League. Ryan Bowness finished his time in the OHL and then went on to the CIS where he played 2 seasons...and then he must have quit. Andrew Murray went to Bemidji State University and has spent the past 2 season with the Syracuse Crunch.

This was much better than the 2000 Draft. Not as many guys just randomly quitting hockey. We did good with Passy (maybe) and with Aaron Johnson now if Leclaire would just stay healthy and Aaron Johnson will develop more.