Catching Up with Ross Johnston

Secluded in the rural farmlands of Prince Edward Island, but not too far from the radiant red sand beaches of Canada's smallest province, Ross Johnston is appreciative of the simple life as he spends quarantine back home at his family's beef farm.

Simple doesn't necessarily mean idle though. It's a relatively busy time of year for the farm housing 60 cows, so the New York Islanders forward has filled his schedule from sunrise to sundown. And that's before he factors in time to work out.
As PEI's maritime climate welcomes warmer temperatures, Johnston has assisted with daily 'chores' as the farm prepares to release the cows from incubated barns and into expansive pastures.
"The cows have been in the barns all winter so getting rid of the manure underneath them and spreading that all over our pasture fields," Johnston said. "The weather is getting warmer now, so that means the cows will go outside soon. You've got to get all of the fences ready. We have 13 different pasture fields that you have to fence in, and you have to repair [the fences] from whatever snow damage occurred over the winter. The other days, whatever fallen down trees that are in the woods of our property, we've just been cleaning up."

The baby calves are born anytime from the beginning of the year through April and spend the summer months grazing around the Johnston's land. At the end of October, the bunch is sold off and the cycle resets. Every year, a select few are chosen in August to reproduce the next generation.
"I find it interesting," Johnston said of the process. "I enjoy working with the cows and when you have calves, you keep certain ones that you like and that you think will be good cows in the future. You can see what they're going to look like when they get older and can see their shape. You can predict what they're going to look like using their genetics and stuff. That's more of a late-summer thing. All the cows that we've chosen from years past are now calving so it's pretty cool to see them come full-circle."
Another project Johnston has partaken in is helping unfold the final stages of his home, which his older brother, Will, is working on as the contractor. Johnston has been hands-on with the construction since the beginning of the project, but wasn't necessarily expecting to be able to witness the unveiling of the final product in person.
"We're about two weeks away from moving in if everything goes smoothly," Johnston said. "It's pretty cool to be a part of the last few stages and be a part of the last decisions and seeing how things are done at the same time. Obviously, it's an unfortunate circumstance to be able to do that, but just take the positive from the negative and go from there."

In the interim, Johnston has been lodging with his brother and taken over the home gym setup in the downstairs garage, adding few of pieces of equipment. But even working around the farm and fitting in his intense daily workouts haven't come close to duplicating the kind of battles and adrenaline fixes Johnston is accustomed to with his teammates.
The void of competition needed to be filled somehow.
"The first two or three weeks when I got home, my brother and I were playing Xbox and he beat me a few times," Johnston recalled. "You can barely sleep, it's so painful. That's just all in our nature; it's as simple as Xbox and losing in that. We're all trying to cope with competition amongst our family members now. There's nothing that will quite relate to what we do day-in and day-out."
This season, Johnston felt things fall into place for him. The 26-year-old nearly doubled the prior season's amount of games played as he set a new career-high at 32. He showcased his sturdy 6-foot-5, 235-pound frame with a few heavyweight tilts, including one off of the opening faceoff against Vegas' Ryan Reaves on Feb. 15.
Johnston's physicality has always been a dominant component of his game, but the strides the winger took to round out his overall play were evident this season as he carved out a larger role for himself. His decision making, bursts of speed, grittiness along the boards and play away from the puck all earned him more time in the lineup, including a stretch alongside Mathew Barzal and Anders Lee. In a recent interview with Sportsnet's Hockey Central, even Barzal said he feels, 'A little bit safe with Johnston on his wing.'
"For me, it's always my foot speed," Johnston explained. "If I'm moving my feet and doing all of those things; the game slows down a bit and you can think a little more. When you do those things; the board play, the in-zone stuff seems to open up and you can make those little plays."

READ: Johnston Rewarded for Devleoping Game

During the month of December, Johnston suited up for all but three of the Islanders' 14 games in that span and scored two of his three goals of the season. Johnston's three goals this season matched his previous career-best and he reached a new career-high in penalty in minutes with 78.
"That was the time of year when I realized things were going a little better than the year before," Johnston said. "I think learning the system for a year and being able to step back and not necessarily play every game the year before; you're able to take time and learn things the proper way and you're able to hone your skill at the same time. Being a year removed from the [new] system and coming into the year this year, it gave not just me, but everyone an advantage to come in and be crisp and learn the more in-depth details rather than the broad stuff. I credit it to a year of learning, [being] willing to learn and moving forward."
As Johnston and his teammates remain hopeful that the NHL will resume play, he is staying true to his diligent work ethic, emblematic of his authentic character, and keeping a patient mindset until a decision is finalized.
"I think it's rough, but at the same time you're not the only one going through it," Johnston said. "It's hard to have the poor me's. You just make the best of it. Whatever decision is coming up just have yourself prepared to play. There's some days that are longer than others when you have to work out and you're not used to this routine, but you just have to do it. You just put your head down, don't think about it too much and just work on being ready to go."