Nick Johnson (ice hockey, born 1985)

Nick Johnson
Nick Johnson playing an away game for the Minnesota Wild against the Calgary Flames in the National Hockey League in November 2011.
Born	(1985-12-24) December 24, 1985 (age 39) Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shot	Right
Played for	Pittsburgh Penguins Minnesota Wild Phoenix Coyotes Boston Bruins Växjö Lakers Brynäs IF
NHL draft	67th overall, 2004 Pittsburgh Penguins
Playing career	2008–2017

Nicholas VanCuran Johnson (born December 24, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota Wild and the Phoenix Coyotes.

Playing career

He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins 67th overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Before being drafted, Johnson played for the St. Albert Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. After graduating high school and being drafted, Johnson played four seasons with Dartmouth of ECAC Hockey in the NCAA. Following his final season at Dartmouth, Johnson signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Penguins on March 25, 2008. ^[1] He shortly began his professional career with affiliate the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League.

In the 2009–10 season, Johnson scored his first career NHL goal in his NHL debut on January 21, 2010, with the Penguins against the Washington Capitals. ^[2] He played in 6 games with the Pittsburgh before returning the Wilkes-Barre. On June 7, 2010, he was re-signed to a one-year contract with the Penguins. ^[3]

On September 29, 2011, Johnson was claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Wild. ^[4] In the 2011–12 season, Johnson earned a regular checking line role on the Wild, playing in a career high 77 games to recorded 8 goals and 26 points.

Despite his successful season with the Wild, Johnson was released as a free agent and on July 11, 2012, he was signed on a one-year, two-way deal with the Phoenix Coyotes. With the NHL lockout in effect, Johnson signed for a brief stint with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL. Upon conclusion of the lockout he was assigned to AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates. He was later recalled by the Coyotes in the shortened 2012–13 season and appeared in 17 games for the Coyotes before on March 13, 2013, he was put on waivers and reassigned to Portland.

On July 5, 2013, Johnson was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Boston Bruins. ^[5]

On July 9, 2014, Johnson left the Bruins organization after one season and signed his first contract abroad on a one-year deal with the Växjö Lakers of the Swedish Hockey League. ^[6]

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2002–03	St. Albert Saints	AJHL		60	21	30	51	10		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	St. Albert Saints	AJHL		51	35	36	71	33		4	0	2	2	0
2004–05	Dartmouth College	ECAC		35	18	17	35	16		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Dartmouth College	ECAC		33	15	10	25	24		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Dartmouth College	ECAC		33	14	16	30	46		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Dartmouth College	ECAC		32	10	25	35	20		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		4	0	1	1	0		10	0	1	1	2
2008–09	Wheeling Nailers	ECHL		18	14	10	24	19		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		56	14	17	31	30		12	4	6	10	8
2009–10	Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		61	16	27	43	50		4	4	0	4	2
2009–10	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		6	1	1	2	2		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		48	20	19	39	49		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		4	1	2	3	5		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Minnesota Wild	NHL		77	8	18	26	45		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Idaho Steelheads	ECHL		5	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Portland Pirates	AHL		14	3	6	9	13		3	2	1	3	9
2012–13	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		17	4	2	6	0		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Providence Bruins	AHL		51	18	24	42	16		12	1	4	5	0
2013–14	Boston Bruins	NHL		9	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Växjö Lakers	SHL		55	17	21	38	14		18	4	5	9	8
2015–16	Brynäs IF	SHL		52	22	12	34	16		3	3	2	5	0
2016–17	Brynäs IF	SHL		39	7	11	18	16		5	0	0	0	2
AHL totals				234	71	94	166	158		41	11	12	23	21
NHL totals				113	14	23	37	52		—	—	—	—	—
SHL totals				146	46	44	90	46		26	7	7	14	10

Awards and honors

Award	Year
All-ECAC Hockey Rookie Team	2004–05
All-ECAC Hockey First Team	2007–08

References

1. "Penguins sign prospect Nick Johnson". Pittsburgh Penguins. 2008-03-25. Archived from the original on 2008-06-05. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
2. "Ovechkin takes Round 1 over Crosby as Capitals double up Penguins". CBS Sports . 2010-01-21. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
3. Anderson, Shelly (2010-06-07). "Penguins ink Johnson to two-way deal". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Retrieved 2010-06-08.
4. "Wild Claim RW Nick Johnson on Waivers from Pittsburgh - Hockey Wilderness". Archived from the original on 2011-11-03. Retrieved 2011-09-29.
5. "The B's signing of Iginla highlights transactions". Boston Bruins. 2013-07-05. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
6. "Nick Johnson ready for Vaxjo Lakers" (in Swedish). Växjö Lakers. 2014-07-09. Retrieved 2014-07-09.

External links

• Media related to Nick Johnson (ice hockey, born 1985) at Wikimedia Commons
• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database