Erik Johnson is Eager to Return to the St. Louis Blues Next Season

Erik Johnson emerged from a Minnesota medical clinic, on Tuesday, after getting tests on his right knee.

The 21-year-old St. Louis Blues defenseman missed all of the past season with a torn ACL.

Six months later, after successful surgery, Johnson told the St.Louis Post-Dispatch that he still needs full medical clearance to play.

“I was told that I just needed a little more power,” Johnson said.

“It was a lot of tests seeing how stable I was. The biggest thing was how I felt, and I felt great. I’m pretty much ready to go. A little more fine-tuning and I’m there. It feels so good because it’s taken so long."

The injury has not held the young blueliner back as he continues to keep in top shape in anticipation of his return next season.

“I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent doing step-ups and squats. The whole thing was a grind. I’ve finished the hard part and now I’m back on the ice skating. There’s no question in my mind that I’m going to be better than any year in the past. I’ve never had this much time to work on my body." he said.

Johnson has been spending some time on the ice under the supervision of Blues' VP of Hockey Operations, and Hall of Fame defenceman, Al MacInnis.

He will return to the ice, with MacInnis, in St. Louis later this week.

“I talked to him on the phone and told him I got good news from the doctor,” Johnson said. “He was like, ‘Oh, now I can start bag-skating you.’” (Bag-skating is a term for an intense, conditioning-driven skate).

Johnson said that he is happy to have such a great mentor in MacInnis during the offseason.

"He’s been working me hard and working on a lot of things, especially from the point, fake shots I can do, different plays. It really helps out a lot.”

He also feels this will be the most important summer of his hockey career, as he works to get his conditioning and skills at and above the NHL level he reached in his rookie year.