James Johannson (March 10, 1964January 21, 2018) was an American ice hockey player, coach and executive. He played for the United States national junior team at the World Juniors in 1983 and 1984, then played for the United States national team at the Winter Olympics in 1988 and 1992, the Ice Hockey World Championships in 1992, and was captain of the silver medal-winning team at the 1990 Goodwill Games. He played 374 games in the International Hockey League (IHL) after being selected by the Hartford Whalers in the 1982 NHL entry draft. He won the Turner Cup as the IHL playoffs champion with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in 1988, then again with the Indianapolis Ice in 1990. He played 264 consecutive games spanning three seasons by 1991, and received the Ironman Award from the IHL in recognition of his durability. As an amateur, he played for the Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey program and won the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship in 1983. Johannson was twice named to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association All-Academic team, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a degree in sport management.
After retiring as a player, Johannson was head coach and general manager of the Twin Cities Vulcans in the United States Hockey League, and led them to the Junior A National Championship in the 1999–2000 season. He worked in several executive positions for USA Hockey from 2000 to 2018, co-operated with the United States Olympic Committee, and oversaw all men's and women's national hockey teams. During his tenure with USA Hockey, national teams won a combined total of 64 medals in International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) competitions. He helped acquire Compuware Arena to become the home rink for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, and was general manager of the men's national team at the 2018 Winter Olympics until his death three weeks before the games began. He was posthumously given the Lester Patrick Trophy in recognition of growing hockey in the United States, received the Paul Loicq Award from the IIHF for contributions to international ice hockey, and inducted into the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame. He was son of Ken Johannson who also served as general manager of the United States national team, and was the younger brother of professional hockey player John Johannson.
Early life and family James Johannson was born on March 10, 1964, in Rochester, Minnesota, and was commonly known as "J.J." He was the youngest of two boys and one girl to Ken Johannson and Marietta Sands, which included his older brother John Johannson. During the 1970s, Johannson's father served as the coaching director of the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States, and was the general manager of the United States national team in 1979 and 1980. As a youth, Johannson and his brother spent summer vacations at hockey camps operated by their father, were included in photographs demonstrating skills for coaching manuals, were stick boys at selection camps for the US national team, and handed out shoes and jackets to the players.
Playing career Amateur
Johannson played ice hockey as a center, was a right-handed shooter, and was listed as and . He played in the Minnesota state high school tournament with Mayo High School in 1982, and was tied as the tournament's leading scorer with seven points.; He was recruited by family friend Bob Johnson to play for the Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey program along with his older brother John. Johannson signed a letter of intent in March 1982 to attend the University of Wisconsin–Madison, then was selected by the Hartford Whalers in the 1982 NHL entry draft, 130th overall in the seventh round.
From 1982 to 1986, Johannson played for the Badgers, and won a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship as a freshman in the 1982–83 season. He received the Fenton J. Kelsey Award as the most competitive player on the Badgers for the 1983–84 season, in which he scored 17 goals and 21 assists as a sophomore. As a junior, he was named to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) All-Academic team for the 1984–85 season. He was second in goal scoring for the Badgers during the 1985–86 season as a senior, when his collarbone was broken in a body check. He missed 12 games due to the injury, then completed his college career with 63 total goals in four seasons.; He received the Wisconsin Williamson Award as a scholar athlete, and was again named to the WCHA All-Academic team. He graduated from Wisconsin with a degree in sport management, but was not offered a professional contract by the Hartford Whalers.
Professional Johannson began his professional career playing in West Germany with EV Landsberg in the 2nd Bundesliga during the 1986–87 season. He scored 46 goals for EV Landsberg and felt that his skating improved while playing in Europe. He later recalled that he loved his time in Germany and stated, "I got so much ice time, it was great. We had nothing else to do. I had a key to the rink". He became an unrestricted free agent after the season, then trained for two hours daily during the summer with skating coach Jack Blatherwick to become faster.
The Calgary Flames signed Johannson on February 25, 1988, and assigned him to their minor league affiliate team, the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in the International Hockey League (IHL) for the remainder of the 1987–88 season. He scored five goals and two assists in his first eight games in the IHL.; He led the league with 15 assists during the 1988 playoffs, and scored eight goals to help the Golden Eagles win the Turner Cup as the IHL playoffs champions in 1988.; At the training camp for the Flames in 1988, coach Terry Crisp felt Johannson deserved an opportunity despite the depth of the organization at the center and right wing positions. Johannson returned to the Golden Eagles where he set a team record with eight short-handed goals during the 1988–89 season.; He played in all 82 games during the season, scored 35 goals and 40 assists, then was released. Despite not making the NHL roster, Johannson stated that the Flames treated him well and that he departed on good terms.
Johannson discussed a potential contract with European and National Hockey League (NHL) teams, then agreed to terms with the Chicago Blackhawks in October 1989 and was assigned to the Indianapolis Ice in the IHL. He chose to sign with the Blackhawks since he had family ties to Indianapolis through his mother. He was the only player to appear in all 82 games during the 1989–90 season, and won his second Turner Cup when the Indianapolis Ice were playoffs champions.; At the end of the 1990–91 season, Johannson had played 264 consecutive games spanning three seasons. He received the Ironman Award from the IHL in recognition of his durability, and offensive and defensive skills. Johannson began the final year of his contract with the Blackhawks on loan to the United States national team for the 1991–92 season. He sought a contract with a team in Switzerland after the 1992 Winter Olympics, then took time off to discuss a contract with the Blackhawks and his plan to coach hockey when he retired from playing. He returned to the Indianapolis Ice on March 13, 1992, despite no future guarantee from the Blackhawks. While in Indianapolis, he was active in the team's Say No to Drugs community service program.
The Milwaukee Admirals signed Johannson to an IHL contract in July 1992. He played 71 games during the 1992–93 season and scored 14 goals, then played 28 games and scored four goals in the 1993–94 season. He retired from professional hockey after playing 374 games in the IHL, where he scored 119 goals and 279 points.
International
The United States national junior team twice named Johannson to its roster at the World Junior Championship, where the team placed fifth in 1983 in the Soviet Union, and placed sixth in 1984 in Sweden. He played for the United States national team at the 1987 Pravda Cup in Leningrad, coached by Dave Peterson who later led the United States national team at the Winter Olympics in 1988 and 1992.
Johannson was one of the first players cut from tryouts for the United States national team in advance of the 1988 Winter Olympics, but was later recalled and worked hard to be a role player on the team. He credited the support from his father and brother as motivation to make the team.; During the pre-Olympic tour, Johannson played 60 games for the United States national team and scored 15 goals, 13 assists, and 28 points. In the 1988 Winter Olympics hockey tournament, he played in five of six games and one assist. The Star Tribune described him as the "top penalty killer on the team" that finished in seventh place.
Johannson was invited to play for the United States national team in ice hockey at the 1990 Goodwill Games by his former university coach Jeff Sauer. He served as captain of the team, scored two goals and had three assists in five games played, and led the United States to the silver medal.
Johannson was named to the United States national team which played a 64-game schedule during the 1991–92 season prior to ice hockey at the 1992 Winter Olympics. He was the second oldest player on the team, and became a source of advice and leadership.; His teammate Keith Tkachuk said, "[Johannson] could do almost anything for a team. He had skill, but he was a responsible guy who you could put on the ice in the last minute of a game. He was a player you relied on". The United States lost to the Unified Team by a 5–2 score in the semifinals, which Johannson felt was the most disappointing loss he had played in due to five penalties against called against the United States. The United States then placed fourth after a loss to the Czechoslovakia national hockey team in the bronze medal game.
During the Olympics, he wrote a diary for the Wisconsin State Journal about the life of an Olympic athlete and the hockey competition, and donated the money he received to the Bob Johnson Memorial Foundation.; Two months later, Johannson was a member of the United States national team at the 1992 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships in Prague, which saw a seventh-place finish for the United States.
Playing statistics Regular season and playoffs
Career playing statistics:
Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1981–82 Mayo High School HSMN 27 28 32 60 20 — — — — — 1982–83 University of Wisconsin WCHA 43 12 9 21 16 — — — — — 1983–84 University of Wisconsin WCHA 35 17 21 38 52 — — — — — 1984–85 University of Wisconsin WCHA 40 16 24 40 54 — — — — — 1985–86 University of Wisconsin WCHA 30 18 13 31 44 — — — — — 1986–87 EV Landsberg FRG.2 50 37 49 86 84 — — — — — 1987–88 United States national team Exhibition 60 15 13 28 — — — — — — 1987–88 Salt Lake Golden Eagles IHL 18 14 7 21 50 19 8 15 23 55 1988–89 Salt Lake Golden Eagles IHL 82 35 40 75 87 13 2 5 7 13 1989–90 Indianapolis Ice IHL 82 22 41 63 74 14 1 4 5 6 1990–91 Indianapolis Ice IHL 82 28 41 69 116 7 1 2 3 8 1991–92 Indianapolis Ice IHL 11 2 2 4 4 — — — — — 1991–92 United States national team Exhibition — — — — — — — — — — 1992–93 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 71 14 22 36 72 5 1 0 1 6 1993–94 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 28 4 7 11 15 — — — — — WCHA totals 148 63 67 130 166 — — — — — IHL totals 374 119 160 279 418 58 13 26 39 88
International International tournament statistics:
Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1983 United States WJC 7 2 1 3 10 1984 United States WJC 7 5 4 9 6 1988 United States OG 6 1 0 1 4 1990 United States GG 5 2 3 5 0 1992 United States OG 8 1 0 1 2 1992 United States WC 6 2 1 3 2 Junior totals 14 7 5 12 16 Senior totals 25 6 4 10 8
Twin Cities Vulcans