Ryan Johnson has well-earned respect with Vancouver

The Vancouver Canucks‘ general manager search has come to an end, as they announced on Thursday that they’ve gone in-house and promoted Ryan Johnson to the position. Johnson has worked with the Canucks organization since 2013, starting as a development coach before working his way up to general manager of their AHL team. Now, he’s running the whole show, and his experience in the organization and the hard work he’s put in has been recognized.

David Quadrelli of Canucks Army joined Daily Faceoff to talk about Johnson and how his hard work in the organization makes him beloved in the city.

David Quadrelli: When I talk to players in Abbotsford, the number one thing I hear from them is, “I would run through a wall for RJ”.

One thing that RJ did that people don’t know a ton about. I’m sure out of market [people], they don’t know. Abbotsford’s about an hour and a half, if you’re unlucky in traffic, drive from Vancouver. Horrible drive. People don’t like doing that drive. He started a wall called the Highway One Wall because the Trans-Canada Highway takes you right from Abbotsford to Vancouver. And he started the wall where he put a framed photo of every player that started in Abbotsford and got called up to Vancouver, just played a game in Vancouver. If you played a game in Vancouver, a picture of you in a Vancouver Canucks uniform was on that wall. It was a reminder as the players walk in that “this isn’t your endpoint. We are playing to make each other better, and we’re all playing to get to the next level.”

As a fan base, you can feel that, right? When a guy commands that level of respect and has players at a point where the number one thing you hear is, “I would run through a wall for that guy”, you feel that in the fan base as well. I think RJ came across like that yesterday as well, because he even talked about how “when I’m talking to players, I’m not talking to them and saying I need you to do better so I look good, so that I succeed as a general manager. I have your best interests at heart. If you do what I’m suggesting here and we walk this path together, you will make it to where you want to go.”

I think that just resonates throughout the fan base. For a player, I’d imagine it’s the exact same thing. You feel that when a guy is saying like, ‘I want you to get be the best you can be’.

You can watch the full episode here…