Port Moody's Ryan Johansen capped his sensational All-Star weekend with MVP honours, awarded for his two-goal performance for Team Foligno, in Sunday's loss to Team Toews.
On Friday, Johansen was the first pick in the All-Star draft – picked by his Blue Jackets teammate Nick Foligno, so the two could team up on the ice to host the rest of the league in Columbus.
On Saturday, the B.C. product was the star of the Skills Competition, winning the breakaway challenge with two moves that brought the Ohio crowd to its first – first, Johansen skated down the ice and scored on goalie Corey Crawford wearing an Ohio State Buckeyes football jersey, drawing cheers and a standing ovation from much of the Columbus crowd. Then, Johansen grabbed his team's trainer's son and helped him down the ice, where the youngster potted the final goal of Johansen's trial.
"Joey deserved it the way he handled the weekend," said All-Star Jakub Voracek, a former Blue Jacket and, this weekend, a member of Team Toews (via Tri-City News). "Him and Nick Foligno were under a lot of spotlight. At the skills yesterday and the game today, they did a great job. It was well deserved."
Johansen, who also played one season with the BCHL's Penticton Vees in 2008-09, leads the Blue Jackets with 43 points through just over half a season. He and Foligno have been two lone bright spots on a Columbus team that has sputtered and dropped to 13th in the Eastern Conference. Many had pegged the Blue Jackets to be a darkhouse Cup run contender, but injuries have derailed their season – this weekend's All-Star Game may be the only cause for celebration Ohio's hockey fans have this year.
"This weekend was definitely a confidence booster," Johansen said, after receiving his award (via NHL.com). "It hasn't hit me yet for sure. This is something that I'll remember for a long, long time.
"It meant a lot to me to see the fans and how much it meant to them... We spent two hours [Sunday] morning signing autographs at the convention center. We were having a great time. Kids were laughing and smiling. It was a great thing to see the last few days."
Hard to believe that contract holdout was only a few months ago.
After the game, Johansen acknowledged there were several other players who could have laid claim to Sunday's MVP award.
John Tavares – who played for the winning Team Toews – actually led the game in scoring, tying an All-Star Game record with four goals. And Voracek had three goals and three assists for six points.
Johansen had four points total on Sunday, adding two assists to his two early goals.
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