ALBUQUERQUE – Hello Ice Wolves fans and welcome to the latest edition of the Ice Wolves Den. This week we feature Johnny Johansson.
Johnny Johansson grew up in a huge hockey family and had many people to look up to, “Definitely my Dad was an inspiration, he played pro and he taught me everything I know. Wether is was volunteering as a coach with some of my youth teams or bringing me to practice.” Johansson continued, “My Mom too, she definitely inspires me to play hard every game. She doesn’t know hockey as much as my Dad does, but she knows when I’m putting my best out there.”
A major highlight for Johnny was the preseason games at the Outpost against the US National Team Development Program, “That was extremely special. My Uncle Jimmy was big in helping to start that program. We lost him in 2018 to an unexpected medical event.” Johansson said, “To be able to bring that team down here and show them what the South is about, not only is it opening their eyes, but it’s opening our eyes to how good we can be and what it takes to get to that D-1 level. Let’s be honest, they’re probably going to play a lot more hockey than we will.”
Ice Wolves Assistant Coach Kyle McKenzie feels Johnny has met his expectations, “I expected Johnny to be a good penalty killed, good 5 on 5, he’s done just that this year. He did a great job as Captain, Coach Hartzell really liked the way he approached the referee, he always had the game in check.” McKenzie continued, “Playing the NTDP was big and it was special for Johnny. It was a special scene for Johnny to not only play, but he contributed well that weekend.”
As Coach McKenzie said, Johnny was one of the teams Captains during the season, Johnny knew how special it was, especially after not getting playing time last season before transitioning from defense to forward, “When you get the C nothing changes, you still have to be yourself. The ref listens to you more, but on the ice nothing changes. It was more of an honor to have the boys vote for me to be the Captain.” Johnny said, “Last year it was tough because I came into a situation where there were a lot of good defensemen, so I wasn’t playing a lot. I’ll never forget it, we were in Colorado and Coach Fox asked me if I wanted to try forward to get some ice time. I started playing in more games, more defensive minded to eat minutes. This summer I worked on my offensive aspect of the game and develop that part and it shows in my stats. I’m not a goal scorer, but I’m getting stuff done.”
The NAHL Ice Wolves were off as they prepare to take on the El Paso Rhinos in the Best of 3 Quarter Finals. All games will be played at the Outpost, Friday and Saturday at 6:30 and if necessary Sunday at 2.
Photo Credit Scott Adamson
