Ryan Johansen on contract, Zemgus the All-Star and Columbus injuries (Puck Daddy Interview)

For two years many smart hockey minds inquired: When will Blue Jackets center Ryan Johansen arrive as a top-flight talent?

He was one of those big, rangy offensive centers – and such of his skillset often take a little bit of time to become solid NHL contributors.

The light switched on in a big way for Johansen in 2013-14 when his points per-game jumped from 0.30 in 2012-13 to 0.77 last season. That year he notched 63 points in 82 games.

This year, he’s on pace for 75 points in 82 games – and all without the luxury of preparing for the year with a traditional training camp. Johansen (then a restricted free agent) and the Blue Jackets agreed on a new contract on Oct. 6, just three days before the team’s season opener against Buffalo.

Thanks to a team-wide injury epidemic. It has been up-and-down sledding for ‘R-Jo’ and the Jackets this year. Columbus has gone 7-2-1 in its last 10 games, but still remains 10 points out of a playoff spot as of Sunday night.

We talked with Johansen about many topics – his contract issues, Zemgus Girgensons, the College Football Playoff, and the TV show “Sons of Anarchy” which is a Johansen personal fav.

Q: Are you past the contract stuff? It probably showed you a business side of the game that most young players don’t think of.

JOHANSEN: It was tough for sure … I’m not going to lie. Especially with how everything was going with all our injuries. It was weird. It was a weird situation when you go back home and you wake up and you don’t have anybody to practice with. You have to call old coaches and old friends and get on the ice with random teams so you can stay fresh. That’s all in the past. I look at it as an experience. I was happy I was able to get back for game one there and be with the team at the start of the season.

How much did you keep up with your teammates? What was it like stepping back into the locker room?

When I was back home they were reaching out to me every day basically, a bunch of the guys. They were mostly trying to get some insight on how things were going and try to find out if we had taken any steps closer. But yeah… they were really supportive when I got back. They were excited to have me back because we were having so many injuries at the start of the year, and I was able to get back out there be with the guys.

They probably wanted you back for obvious reasons …

Yeah that’s what makes it tough with the negotiations when they’re all urging you to get back.

With the All-Star vote being dominated by the Blackhawks and Zemgus Girgensons, what do you think about Chicago and Latvia invading Columbus for the All-Star Game?

I think it’s cool that fans can get together and vote on their favorite teams. It’s nothing the players can control. It is what it is, and that’s the way you do it.

Can you imagine having an entire country voting for you like Latvia and Girgensons?

It has been fun watching Latvia all come together and show their support for a player who is from there. It has been pretty cool to see.

Have you thought about being an All-Star for the host city’s team? 

It’s something that would be really cool. I was fortunate enough to go to the one as a young prospect in Ottawa a few years back. To see the reactions of the fans from the Ottawa guys and the buzz around the city for a few days, it was cool to watch. Columbus is a great sports town. I think it will be a lot of fun.

A bit of an up and down year for you guys. What’s your mood about the team in general?

We’ve been really good lately. Our record in December and starting the New Year … we’ve been playing some great hockey. We still have a couple of levels to go up and improve, but we’re definitely taking a step in the right direction since the start of our season. We’re trying to get better each and every day, and be the best team we can be.

What has enabled you guys to turn it around? 

Injuries have been going around on our team. It has been brutal. We had a ton of guys out of the lineup. We acquired some new guys. A lot of new faces and new lines. It’s just some adversity we’ve had to deal with, and we’ve had some bodies back and hopefully get a few more the next few days or so. Everybody has elevated their game, and we’ve found ways to win and just have to keep doing that.

It’s still a big hill to climb, even though you’ve been pretty hot?

The main thing we talk about when that’s brought up is we have to take it one game at a time and we’re about to start a long roadtrip. We have our first game at (Arizona) and a few more cities and this is a huge time in the season where we have to keep this pace up and find ways to get wins on the road so we can keep chasing the playoffs.

What started to click for you last year? It was a pretty big breakout just in general.

There were a ton of things that fell into place. I started getting bigger and stronger and growing as a person and on the ice, and confidence is a huge thing with every successful player in the league. I got off to a pretty good start and was playing with some great players. Coach had me on all the power plays and just wanted to take that next step in my career and become the player I wanted to be. A lot of things were just going well. One thing I looked back at that I was happy with was how consistent I stayed. Through such a long season it’s hard to do and keep going strong.

Was there ever any worry that it wasn’t going to click for you at the NHL level? You had so much success as a junior after all. 

Well, I mean … those thoughts always come up when you’re struggling. With anything in life, when you’re struggling those ideas just pop into your head or whatever, but it was nothing I was worried about or distracted by. But it was definitely nice to see the puck going in and making some good plays for our team. It was nice when it finally came.

We hear you’re a “Sons of Anarchy” fan. Can you please explain why?

Me and Tim Erixon, we roomed together in the lockout year down in Springfield and he got me into it. I just watched it until the end and a few of the guys on the team watch it as well. I like the show, it’s cool.

Were you surprised at how the show ended with Jax going out in a blaze of glory? 

You never know what’s going to happen. Everything was surprising the last three episodes. I was surprised for sure.

What was it about that show that attracted you to it? Do you ride a motorcycle? 

I don’t … it’s just something different.

What do you miss the most about the Western Conference? It’s now your second year in the Eastern Conference.

The cool thing was playing at home more than once a year. Getting back to Vancouver, my hometown … that’s something I definitely miss. But the travel is so nice for us in the East. It makes playing a lot easier.

How has being in the East helped you guys with the less travel and such?

We definitely have noticed a big difference in just talking to the guys on the team. Every time we play a road game in the East, it feels like we’re back in our own beds before midnight. It’s definitely something we all noticed, and something that’s nice about us being in the East now.

Did you watch Ohio State beat Alabama in the College Football Playoff and will you watch the Buckeyes in the National Championship?

I was watching with a few of the guys. I’ll definitely try to watch the final game there. Hopefully we don’t have a game or something that conflicts with it.

British Columbia guy getting into college football. Kinda weird to you?

I’m starting to like football more and more living in the states and being in a big football town.

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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