ST. LOUIS — The sample size remains too small to declare summary judgment on his behalf. Erik Johnson has been good, verging on great, most of this season with the Avalanche. He has been the best defenseman on the ice more often than not in Avs games, including Tuesday night, when he played nearly 29 minutes in a tough-luck loss at Carolina.

There is the temptation to say Johnson finally has developed into the bona fide, No. 1 star defenseman the Avs hoped they acquired from St. Louis in 2011.

But it has been only 17 games. Johnson knows he has more ground to cover. Two and a half years after coming to the Avs, Johnson returns to St. Louis on Thursday off to a great start, but cognizant that he has had some ups before with the Avs, only to be followed by downturns. This time, though, Johnson says he can keep elevating his game.

“I feel like this is the best stretch I’ve had in my career,” Johnson said. “A lot of it has to do with Patrick (Roy). You know, I’m a player that can make plays. You go out there and make a mistake and go back to the bench and he’s like, ‘Don’t worry about it. That’s a great try. Go out and do it again next shift.’ In the past, we played a lot of D-to-D, chip-it-up-the-wall kind of hockey. Now, there’s a lot of flow to our game, where we come out of the zone with speed. We’re really utilizing our best asset, which is our speed.”

Under coach Joe Sacco, Johnson said, he would have been told, “What are you doing, not chipping it in?”

“Patrick has just given me that leash, and I just have a belief in my game right now. When the coach has belief in you, it makes a big difference,” Johnson said.

Johnson has yet to produce the kind of offensive numbers the Avs might have wanted after getting him from the Blues in the blockbuster deal that sent Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk to St. Louis. In 17 games this season, Johnson has a modest two goals and five assists. But that is nearly double the four points (no goals) he posted in 31 games last season.

But offensive numbers don’t tell the full story. He is moving the puck up ice effectively, either skating it out or hitting forwards with the first pass. He is a plus-10 entering Thursday in an average of 21 minutes, 24 seconds per game.

Before the season, Roy sat down with the native of Bloomington, Minn., and stressed one thing above all: amnesia. Forget about the past, Roy said. Forget the can’t-miss-kid label that made him the No. 1 pick in the 2006 draft with St. Louis, and the inflated expectations.

There is more work — lots of it — to do with Johnson, but Roy said the 6-foot-4, 232-pound defender has passed the first tests with him.

“The biggest thing with him is, he wants to learn, he wants to get better,” Roy said. “He wants to hear what we tell him. When he skates and moves his feet, he’s a very good player. We just have to keep taking it one day at a time with him and the rest of the team.”

Said Johnson: “We all just want to go through a wall for Patrick, and I’m no different. We want to win for him, and for each other.”

Adrian Dater: adater@denverpost.com or twitter.com/adater

Colorado at St. Louis

6 p.m. Thursday, ALT; 950 AM

Spotlight on Jay Bouwmeester: He was considered something of a bust in Calgary after the Flames paid a lot of money to import him from the Florida Panthers. Since he has been a member of the Blues, Bouwmeester has earned plaudits for consistently solid defensive play for coach Ken Hitchcock.

The knock on Bouwmeester used to be that he didn’t make his team a winner despite ample ice time, but the Blues are off to a good start with him playing major minutes.

NOTEBOOK

Avalanche: Former Avs player Milan Hejduk told the Czech Republic newspaper Blesk that he is done playing and will make the announcement official soon. … Jean-Sebastien Giguere will start in goal. … Defenseman Jan Hejda did not practice at the Scottrade Center on Wednesday afternoon, merely taking a day of rest. … Avalanche coach Patrick Roy has been getting in lots of skating himself the past two days. He skated hard with other coaches after practice, but complained of a cranky knee toward the end — all to the good-natured chortling of Avs executive vice president of hockey operations Joe Sakic, who said he’ll lace up his skates to join the coaches “at some point.” … The Avs have not lost two games in a row this season.

Blues: Former Avs defenseman Jordan Leopold will miss at least eight weeks after undergoing surgery to repair ligaments in his right hand.

Adrian Dater, The Denver Post