The whole battle for playing time among Johns, Oleksiak and Nemeth was hard on all three, and Johns had to really overcome some mental challenges in the process. However, he showed last season that he was able to focus on his game and not worry about making mistakes -- and he became a much better defenseman because of it. Johns is an interesting combination in that he is big at 6-foot-4, 221 pounds, and can still skate and move the puck. He is the most physical of Stars' defensemen, and yet he also could be a perfect fit in Jim Montgomery's aggressive attacking system that requires a lot of skating. Mix in the fact he is a right-handed shot and he could be the perfect partner for young lefty Miro Heiskanen or for veteran lefty Marc Methot. He even has a shot that could be used on the power play, but the addition of Heiskanen and the expected increase in ice time for Julius Honka could limit Johns' time on the man advantage. Still, the rare mix of tools could make Johns one of the more important players on the Stars this season at a time when he seems ready to take on even more responsibility.
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