Wyatt Johnston now has his name in the Dallas history book after scoring his 30th goal of the season in a 5-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night. He joined Brian Bellows as the only players in franchise history to score 30 goals before their 21st birthday.
He jumped out of the penalty box in the second period and joined a 3-on-1. He scored top shelf short side at the 1:15 mark in the video below.
Johnston was the 23rd pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. There are 12 players from that draft to yet play their first game in the league including six players chosen before he was.
The former Windsor Spitfire currently leads his draft class with 54 goals and 102 points in 158 games. Matty Berniers, picked 2nd overall by Seattle, has 40 goals and 99 points in 160 games. Johnston's 61 points has him two points behind veteran Joe Pavelski for 2nd in team scoring.
"It's so exciting to see how fast he has transitioned to the NHL." said Windsor Spitfires' general manager Bill Bowler told Powerplay Sports. The Spits chose Johnston 6th overall in the OHL Draft in 2019. "Wyatt was a low maintenance elite talent with a work ethic to match." Bowler said.
Dallas head coach raved about Johnston a year ago during an April trip to Detroit. "It's not easy to do what he does," DeBoer told CTV News. "Very few guys come out of junior at that age."
Johnston, who turns 21 in May, has 8 points in his last five games as Dallas rides an 8-game win streak. The Stars are at the top of the Western Conference with 105 points, one point behind the New York Rangers for the overall league lead.