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He’ll say it doesn’t matter, but for winger Nick Johnson, the National Hockey League dream has just gotten one step closer. The Central Scouting Bureau has rated Johnson, a top player for the St. Albert Saints of the Albert Junior A Hockey League, 65^th overall among North American skaters in its mid-term rankings. With European rankings still to come, projecting to the June NHL draft, that would make the young scoring machine a likely late fourth or early fifth round pick.

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With injuries dogging him most of this Alberta Junior Hockey League season, getting listed wasn’t a sure bet. With 26 goals and 48 points in 36 games, Johnson thought he’d done enough to make the grade, but he pegged himself as a sixth rounder at best.

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Only three players from the AJHL made the list. Johnson was tops, followed by a pair of Grand Prairie players, Scott McCulloch at No. 71 and Kyle Radke at No. 140.

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“Generally, I think I’ve had a fairly good year, minus the injuries,” he said. “As soon as I came to practice [when the list came out], everyone kind of made sure I knew it. It was nice to see I guess. It doesn’t mean a whole lot until the actual draft date, but it’s rewarding just to be on there. Two years ago I was playing Midget AA and now I’m on the list. It’s overwhelming, but you’ve just got to take it in stride and reason with it I guess.”

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Asked to break down his game, Johnson cites his size and willingness to go to the net as strengths that might make him noticeable to pro scouts. A native of Calgary and a huge Flames fan, his hockey idol is Jarome Iginla, and he sees himself as an Iggy type of player.

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“Without the power,” the lanky 6'2” 170 lb winger laughed. “I guess I’m a big guy. Maybe I’m not the heaviest, but my size is a bit of an advantage. I like to see the ice and try to make a play develop. I’m good in front of the net and that’s where I like to be. I’ve always paid attention to scoring goals and it’s kind of worked out this year.”

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There's a fair list of former St. Albert Saints that have gone on to play at the highest level.

The most notable would be Mark Messier, who played 71 games from 1977-79. Troy Murray went on to play 915 NHL games for Chicago, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Pittsburgh and Colorado. As with all good Saints, Johnson has heard the inevitable comparisons to the most recent St. Albert to NHL grad, Mike Comrie.

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“I hear it sometimes,” he admitted. “But really, you only wish you could be in the same class as him.”

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To continue his climb to that kind of status, Johnson believes his defensive game will need work.

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“I’ve got to hit the weight room too,” he added. “I’ve been doing it every summer, but I’ve got to do it religiously this spring and summer. And I’ve got to work on the little things. A lot of players are good because of their short game, their chips and little backhand passes. You’ve always got to be looking because stuff like that helps you out.”

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Saints coach Mark Holick concurred. "One positive for Nick is the work ethic," the coach said. "His is excellent. He comes to work every single day and he tries as hard as he can. He's got excellent skills. He skates very well and he shoots the puck very well. I think he's a student of the game. He's probably one of our most intelligent players. He reads the ice well and makes good decisions. He's a solid player, both offensively and defensively. He takes pride in his ability to play at both ends. He's a complete player."

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"Things that he would need to work on? Consistency. He needs to make sure he can bring not only his effort every day, but bring that package of skills to the rink every night.”

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“Other than that, it's just getting the strength up. When he understands how to train, I think he's going to be that much better. When he understands the type of sports-specific training that guys are into now, when he gets that in college, he's going to be scary. If any player in our league is going to make the NHL, it's Nick."

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Playing next season with Dartmouth University in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (a member of the NCAA) will help. The conference includes Yale, Harvard and Princeton, schools known for having solid hockey programs.

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“It’s not a big school compared to western universities,” Johnson said. “But they’ve [Dartmouth] been doing pretty well this year. It’s an Ivy League school, so I’ll look forward to studying there. And they have a lot of time to work out. It’s not like the WHL where they play three games a week. College teams only play on weekends, so there’s more time for practice and weights. We’ll see how I fit in, but hopefully I’ll be in the line-up right away.”

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But before he gets ahead of himself, Johnson wants to keep things in perspective. “It (being listed) doesn’t get you a whole lot more respect on the ice or anything,” he pointed out.

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“You’ve still got to work for everything you do. Playing other teams, they’re not going to think better of you just because you’re on the list. You’ve got to think about the team.”

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