Craig Johnson (ice hockey, born 1972)

Craig Johnson
Born	(1972-03-18) March 18, 1972 (age 53) Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb)
Position	Left wing
Shot	Left
Played for	St. Louis Blues Los Angeles Kings Toronto Maple Leafs Washington Capitals Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Hamburg Freezers DEG Metro Stars EC Red Bull Salzburg
National team	United States
NHL draft	33rd overall, 1990 St. Louis Blues
Playing career	1994–2008

Craig Thomas Johnson (born March 18, 1972) is an American ice hockey player who played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 33rd overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft and went on to play 557 games in the NHL for the St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

Internationally Johnson played for the American national team in several World Championships and the 1994 Winter Olympics.

Playing career

Johnson made his NHL debut during the 1994–95 season with St. Louis. He scored the first goal at the Kiel Center when it opened in 1995. On February 27, 1996, Johnson was traded with Patrice Tardif, Roman Vopat, and two draft picks to the Los Angeles Kings for Wayne Gretzky. He remained a King for another seven seasons through the 2002–03 season. During his tenure with the Kings, he wore number 23, making him the penultimate player to wear the number until it was retired for Dustin Brown in 2023. ^[1]

He signed as a free agent with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks for the 2003–04 season. ^[2] He spent half a season with Anaheim until being claimed off waivers by the Toronto Maple Leafs. ^[3] Two months later, he was again claimed off waivers by the Washington Capitals, where he finished the season. ^[4]

Johnson moved to Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), signing with the Hamburg Freezers. After one season he signed with the DEG Metro Stars in Düsseldorf where he spent two seasons. In 2007, Johnson moved to Austria and signed with Red Bull Salzberg.

Johnson returned to the Orange County area and coached youth hockey at Santa Margarita Catholic High School and for the Anaheim Jr Ducks youth team. ^[5] He was an assistant coach for the Ontario Reign in 2010–11 and joined the player development staff for the Los Angeles Kings in 2018. He returned to the Reign, now in the AHL, as assistant coach in 2020. ^[6] He is working as co-head coach of the Reign with Chris Hajt. ^[7]

Personal life

His son Ryan, a defenseman, was drafted in the first round by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2019 NHL Draft - he is currently a member of the Buffalo Sabres

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1987–88	Hill-Murray School	HS-MN		28	14	20	34	4		—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	Hill-Murray School	HS-MN		24	22	30	52	10		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	Hill-Murray School	HS-MN		23	15	36	51	0		—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	University of Minnesota	WCHA		33	13	18	31	34		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	University of Minnesota	WCHA		44	19	39	58	70		—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	University of Minnesota	WCHA		42	22	24	46	68		—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	Jacksonville Bullets	SuHL		23	2	9	11	38		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	United States National Team	Intl		54	25	26	51	64		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Peoria Rivermen	IHL		16	2	6	8	25		9	0	4	4	10
1994–95	St. Louis Blues	NHL		15	3	3	6	6		1	0	0	0	2
1995–96	Worcester IceCats	AHL		5	3	0	3	2		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	St. Louis Blues	NHL		49	8	7	15	30		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		11	5	4	9	6		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		31	4	3	7	26		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		74	17	21	38	42		4	1	0	1	4
1998–99	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		69	7	12	19	32		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		76	9	14	23	28		4	1	0	1	2
2000–01	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		26	4	5	9	16		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		72	13	14	27	24		7	1	2	3	2
2002–03	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		70	3	6	9	22		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	NHL		39	1	2	3	14		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		10	1	1	2	6		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Washington Capitals	NHL		15	0	6	6	8		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Hamburg Freezers	DEL		42	19	25	44	56		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	DEG Metro Stars	DEL		25	11	2	13	48		13	8	5	13	40
2006–07	DEG Metro Stars	DEL		50	19	19	38	83		9	3	2	5	20
2007–08	EC Salzburg	AUT		23	3	6	9	30		14	2	5	7	32
NHL totals				557	75	98	173	260		16	3	2	5	10

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1991	United States	WJC		2	0	2	2	0
1993	United States	WC		6	1	1	2	4
1994	United States	OLY		8	0	4	4	4
1996	United States	WC		6	1	1	2	2
1999	United States	WC		6	0	3	3	0
2003	United States	WC		6	2	2	4	8
Junior totals				2	0	2	2	0
Senior totals				32	4	11	15	18

Awards and honors

Award	Year(s)
All-WCHA Rookie Team	1990–91
WCHA All-Tournament Team	1992, 1993	[8]

References

1. "List of all the Los Angeles Kings Sweater Numbers". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
2. "Johnson stays close to home, joins Ducks". TSN.ca. September 9, 2003. Archived from the original on January 8, 2004. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
3. "Leafs Claim Johnson Off Waivers". Toronto Maple Leafs. January 10, 2004. Archived from the original on February 28, 2004. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
4. "Capitals Claim Craig Johnson Off Waivers from Toronto". Washington Capitals. March 5, 2004. Archived from the original on September 10, 2004. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
5. "Anaheim Wildcats Hockey Club". Archived from the original on June 22, 2010. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
6. "Hockey Operations :: Ontario Reign".
7. "Statement from the Ontario Reign :: Ontario Reign".
8. "WCHA Tourney History". WCHA. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2014.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Eurohockey.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database