BUFFALO, N.Y. — In the offseason, the Buffalo Sabres added two new defensemen to their roster, Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton, who are both coming in with several years of league experience.
However, Johnson brings an impressive 17 years of veteran knowledge to this young roster, which is exactly what general manager Kevyn Adams and head coach Don Granato were hoping to do in order to help out some of the younger defensemen such as Owen Power, Rasmus Dahlin, and Mattias Samuelsson.
In addition, as a former No. 1 overall pick — and the only player in the Sabres locker room to not only win a Stanley Cup, but also lead his Colorado Avalanche team through their ups and downs prior to becoming NHL champs in 2022 — Adams and Granato knew Johnson would be the perfect fit for this squad.
On top of what he can bring to the younger guys and defensemen on the team, Sabres forward Alex Tuch said that even he has already learned a lot from spending some time together with Johnson in training camp.
"His presence, his leadership, his mentality each and everyday," Tuch said. "His drive and determination, I've seen just in a couple of weeks getting to know him, but he's also a real easy guy to be around. Happy go lucky guy, an awesome guy for the young guys to be around too."
As for the defensemen specifically, Johnson said that some of the guys have already been pretty eager to ask questions about his experiences on and off the ice, and according to Rasmus Dahlin, that is even if it calls for buying yourself a little backyard sauna.
"He said it was good for recovery, so I was like 'yeah, sure I'll do it,'" Dahlin said. "Whatever he says."
Johnson added: "To have a long and successful career it's as much as what you do off the ice to get yourself ready to go on the ice. So, I think I've just been telling these guys what it takes and they've been asking questions and I've been answering."
"I think we got a little sauna club for our D," Johnson said. "It's going to be good."
The Sabres are set to take on the preseason with the first game set to face off against the Capitals on Sunday in Washington at 2 p.m.