With pick No. 61 in the 2014 NHL Draft, the Buffalo Sabres have taken Swedish goalie Jonas Johansson.
Johnasson joins fellow Swedish netminder Linus Ullmark in the Sabres system, and adds to Buffalo burgeoning prospect group in net. He’s a big guy at 6’4”, and has good positioning and athleticism for a big man. He’s played on many of Sweden’s international teams, and has the mental makeup to handle those pressure-packed situations.
Here’s what Kris Baker of Sabres Prospects has to say:
I got a brief glimpse of Johansson over the summer at the USA National Junior Evaluation Camp, and was particularly impressed with his great size and simple positioning. He’s s big, wide goalie with excellent athleticism and a great glove who forces you to pick corners by taking away the bottom shelf. His size and butterfly style are similar to Robin Lehner, whose Murray’s Sens picked at a similar spot (46th overall) back at the 2009 draft, and he plays deep in his crease like fellow countryman Henrik Lundqvist. If Johansson sees it, he stops it. Much like Demko before him, Johansson can marinate for a few more years in a strong program and gain some valuable international experience before advancing up a level.
Here’s a scouting report on Johansson from Last Word on Sports:
Johansson takes away the bottom of the net extremely well, however will need to work on his rebound control going forward. He has a very good glove hand that takes away the top of the net.
Johansson has good athleticism, so he recovers quickly and gets himself square to the shooter on rebound attempts. His strong skating and the fact he plays deep in his crease allow him to be very good on deke attempts, breakaways, and shootouts. Mature for his age, Johansson doesn’t let a bad goal get to him, and avoids giving up two or three quick ones in a row by dwelling on the last one. He’s also shown to be a leader for his International teams, being someone they can lean on when the pressure is on.
Johansson isn’t the type of goaltender who comes out of his crease to handle the puck, and that’s probably a good thing, as it’s not a strength for him.