Erik Johnson
| Erik Johnson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | March 21, 1988 Bloomington, MN, USA |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 236 lb (107 kg; 16 st 12 lb) |
| Position | Defense |
| Shoots | Right |
| NHL team Former teams |
Colorado Avalanche St. Louis Blues |
| National team |  United States |
| NHL Draft | 1st overall, 2006 St. Louis Blues |
| Playing career | 2007–present |
Erik Robert Johnson (born March 21, 1988) is an American ice hockey defenseman playing for the Colorado Avalanche in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was formerly with the St. Louis Blues. Johnson, the number one overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, was drafted by the Blues from the U.S. under-18 national team and played one season at the University of Minnesota before transferring to the NHL.
Playing career
Junior
Johnson played hockey for the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, Minnesota, before transferring to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to play for the National Team Development Program (NTDP). Johnson is one of the six Americans to have been chosen first in the NHL Entry Draft, along with Patrick Kane (2007), Rick DiPietro (2000), Brian Berard (1995), Mike Modano (1988) and Brian Lawton (1983).
He played for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers during the 2006–07 season. Johnson was signed by the St. Louis Blues to a three-year entry level contract on April 20, 2007.[1]
Professional
Johnson scored his first NHL goal against the Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Bernier on October 6, 2007. It was also the game-winning goal.[2] He finished his rookie season averaging over 18 minutes of ice-time per game to go with 5 goals and 28 assists in 69 games.
Johnson suffered a major setback in the off-season, tearing his ACL and MCL, when his right foot was caught between the accelerator and brake pedal of his golf cart during a team golf outing on September 16, 2008.[3] He underwent knee surgery to repair the damaged ligament on November 20 and missed the entirety of the 2008–09 season.[4]
On August 2, 2010, as a restricted free agent Johnson re-signed with the Blues with a two year, $5.2 million contract.[5] In the following 2010–11 season, on February 19, 2011, he was traded by the Blues to the Colorado Avalanche along with Jay McClement and a conditional first round pick (that Colorado used to select Duncan Siemens) in exchange for Chris Stewart, Kevin Shattenkirk and a conditional second round pick (that St. Louis used to select Ty Rattie).[6] Later that day Johnson made his Avalanche debut at the HP Pavilion at San Jose in a 4–0 defeat to the San Jose Sharks.[7] In his second game, Johnson faced his former team and posted his first goal as an Avalanche in a 4–3 victory over the Blues on February 22, 2011.[8]
On July 3, 2012, Johnson signed a 4-year, $15 million extension with the Avalanche.
International play
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for United States
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Silver | 2010 Vancouver | |
| World Championships | ||
| Bronze | 2013 Stockholm/Helsinki | |
| World Junior Championships | ||
| Bronze | 2007 Leksand | |
| World U18 Championships | ||
| Gold | 2005 České Budějovice | |
| Gold | 2006 Halmstad | |
As a product of the USNTDP, Johnson first made his international debut for the United States at the 2005 World U17 Hockey Challenge. In the same year he captured the Gold Medal, as a 17 year old at the 2005 World Under–18 Championships. Erik scored 10 points in 6 games the 2006 World Under–18 championships to help the U.S retain the Gold medal and was selected as the Bob Johnson Award winner as the Best American player in International competition.[9]
He was a member of the 2007 U20 American team that won a Bronze Medal in the U20 World Championships. Johnson was named to the tournament's All-Star Team and was named the tournament's Best Defenseman. Johnson finished the tournament with 4 goals and 6 assists for 10 points, becoming the first defenseman to lead the tournament in scoring.
Representing Team USA at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics Winter Games, Johnson received a silver medal after losing in Overtime to Canada in the final.
Awards
- 2007: IIHF World U20 Championship Best Defenseman Directorate Award
- 2007: IIHF World U20 Championship All Star Team
- 2007: WCHA All-Rookie Team
- 2007–08:Played in the NHL YoungStars Game
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2003–04 | Academy of Holy Angels | MNHS | 31 | 13 | 21 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2004–05 | U.S. National Development Team | USDP | 54 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | U.S. National Development Team | USDP | 47 | 16 | 33 | 49 | 89 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 41 | 4 | 20 | 24 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 69 | 5 | 28 | 33 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Peoria Rivermen | AHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 79 | 10 | 29 | 39 | 79 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 55 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 22 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 73 | 4 | 22 | 26 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 31 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 329 | 27 | 104 | 131 | 207 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | United States | WHC17 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 2005 | United States | WJC18 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | United States | WJC18 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 27 |
| 2006 | United States | WJC | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 18 |
| 2007 | United States | WJC | 7 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 16 |
| 2007 | United States | WC | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 2010 | United States | OG | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 2013 | United States | WC | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 20 |
| Junior int'l totals | 31 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 65 | ||
| Senior int'l totals | 23 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 28 | ||
References
- ↑ "Blues Sign First Overall Draft Pick Erik Johnson". St. Louis Blues. 2007-04-20. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
- ↑ "Blues 5, Kings 3". CBS Sports. 2007-10-06. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
- ↑ "Erik Johnson Out Indefinitely". St. Louis Blues. 2008-09-23. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
- ↑ "Blues' defenseman Johnson has knee surgery". National Hockey League. 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
- ↑ "Johnson re-signs with Blues for 2 years, $5.2 million". Stltoday.com. 2010-08-02. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ↑ "Blues send former No.1 pick Johnson to Avalanche". The Sports Network. 2011-02-19. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
- ↑ "Setoguchi tallies hat trick as Sharks blank reeling Avs". National Hockey League. 2011-02-19. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ↑ "Johnson scores on former team as Avs knock off Blues". The Sports Network. 2011-02-23. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
- ↑ "United States 2006 WJC Media Guide". USA Hockey. 2006-02-01. Retrieved 2009-02-03.
External links
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sidney Crosby |
NHL first overall draft pick 2006 |
Succeeded by Patrick Kane |
| Preceded by T. J. Oshie |
St. Louis Blues first round draft pick 2006 |
Succeeded by Patrik Berglund |
| Preceded by Marc Staal |
World Junior Best Defenceman 2007 |
Succeeded by Drew Doughty |