ST. LOUIS -- Erik Johnson spent just one season at the University of Minnesota, but he put his study skills to work once he got to the NHL.
Sitting out his sophomore season after an embarrassing golf cart incident left him with two torn ligaments in his knee, he got busy figuring out his future.
Turns out, he still had one in hockey.
"I was pretty devastated. I wasn't really sure what the injury could do for me or my career. But after researching it quite a bit, I realized I could come back stronger," said the 21-year-old, who has quickly rebounded and become the kind of player the St. Louis Blues hoped he would be when they made him the first-overall pick of the 2006 draft.
"I bought a lot of books and did a lot of online research. When you hear ACL (injury), you only really hear about it in the States on ESPN -- it's football players done for the year. It seems like the worst thing ever, and you'll never be able to play again.
"After I researched it with hockey, it made a lot more sense to me. How it actually has less an effect on hockey players because we're always gliding. We're not cutting and stopping and jumping like basketball and football.
"After doing a significant amount of research, It kind of put me at ease a little bit to know I could come back and be where I needed to be."
Tied for second on the team with seven points through the first dozen games prior to last night's tilt against the visiting Flames, Johnson is establishing himself as a powerplay quarterback and dependable defensive defenceman.
Impressing in his rookie season with five goals and 33 points through 69 games, the Bloomington, Minn., product has skipped the sophomore slump and become a veteran-like presence on a Blues back-end that has been in need of a calming influences with newcomer Darryl Sydor being the only healthy blueliner to suit up for more than 300 games.
That's changing now with the return of captain Eric Brewer, who has overcome a pair of serious back surgeries and minor knee intrusion to play his first few games in nearly a year.
"It's big. Before he came back, I think Darryl Sydor had pretty much all our NHL games combined between everyone else," Johnson said with a laugh.
"Getting Brew back has been a great influence. Kind of keeps things loose in the room and provides all that veteran leadership.
"I know he's not back to where he wants to be yet, but he will be.
"I was really pleased how he came back. He's looked smoother than he had in the past. Maybe because he's all healed up."
Johnson, too, is looking better than before his crippling knee injury that occurred during a team golf function when he got his right foot stuck between the gas and brake pedals on the cart as he tried to dismount.
The flukey mishap was so close to ending his hockey career that he appreciates every minute of every game even more than he did as a wide-eyed rookie two years ago.
"It was disappointing, because I had such a good second half of my rookie year. I was ready to build off that. Had confidence going," Johnson said.
"It was tough, but it made me appreciate playing hockey and made me work hard to get back to where I was. I've kind of been echoing that a lot to everybody."
