Ken Johannson

Kenneth Johannson (October 6, 1930November 27, 2018) was a Canadian-born American ice hockey player, coach and executive.

A native of Edmonton, he attended the University of North Dakota on a football scholarship, then played for the Fighting Sioux men's ice hockey team and was its captain for two seasons.

Kenneth Johannson was born on October 6, 1930, in Edmonton, Alberta.

He was described by the Edmonton Journal as a "crack athlete" from the south side of Edmonton, where he played ice hockey, rugby football, and fastpitch softball.

In hockey, Johannson played as a center, and was listed as 5 ft and 200 lb. He was the Fighting Sioux's leading scorer in the 1950–51 season with 59 points in 26 games, and placed eight overall in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) top scorers.

He played senior men's softball with the Jenner Motors team in 1951 and 1952, and coached an intermediate level women's softball team in 1955 in Edmonton.

Johannson's football coach in Edmonton was a former University of North Dakota athlete and convinced him to attend the school, where he played in the offensive backfield and as a punter for the North Dakota Fighting Sioux football team.

He completed three seasons on a football scholarship in addition to three seasons with the North Dakota Fighting Sioux men's ice hockey team.

He paid additional school expenses by working at doctor's clinic, and convinced three friends from Edmonton to join the school's hockey team.

Coach Cliff Purpur named Johannson a team captain in 1951, a position he held for the next two seasons.

In a span of 24 games during the 1951–52 season, he set a team record for the most consecutive games scoring at least one point.

Johannson's early professional hockey career saw him play for teams based in England, Scotland and Switzerland.

He was a member of the Streatham Royals in the English National League for the 1953–54 season, the Kirkcaldy Flyers in the Scottish Ice Hockey Association for the 1954–55 season, and the Wembley Lions in the British National League for the 1955–56 season.

He was also a player-coach for two seasons in Switzerland.

In 1956, Johannson began coaching high school boys ice hockey in Minnesota.

He and Bob Johnson were hired by Warroad High School as teachers and coaches of the boys' hockey team.

They had previously been roommates for two years at North Dakota, and neither knew the other was hired to run the team.

During the 1956–57 season, Johannson played senior ice hockey with the Warroad Lakers.

After a professional career in England, Scotland and Switzerland, he played for the Rochester Mustangs in the United States Central Hockey League from 1957 to 1968.

In February 1957, Johannson resigned his position in Warroad, then completed the season playing hockey in Zürich.

He was considered for the head coach position of the Fighting Sioux men's hockey team for the 1957–58 season, that was instead given to Bob May.

Johannson played for the Rochester Mustangs in the United States Central Hockey League from 1957 to 1968.

The Mustangs played home games at the Mayo Civic Auditorium which was 145 ft long.

The team's style of play was more physical compared to faster-skating teams which played their home games in a standard 200 ft rink.

Art Strobel quit coaching the Mustangs in 1958, and Johannson was named the team's player-coach for the 1958–59 and 1959–60 seasons.

He was named to the league's all-star team in January 1958, in an exhibition game versus the United States national team, and coached the Mustangs to the league's championship for the 1958–59 season.

He served as player-coach of the Mustangs for two seasons and led them to the league's championship in 1959.

He led the league with 42 goals and 78 points scored during the 1959–60 season, and was named player-coach of the Midwestern United States all-star team that played an exhibition game versus the Soviet Union national team in January 1960.

In 1960, Johannson relinquished coaching duties and continued as a player for the Mustangs.

In the 1961–62 season, Johannson played with Herb Brooks and Bill Reichart on the highest-scoring forward line in league history at the time, and led the league in individual point scoring in three seasons.

In the 1961–62 season, Johannson, Herb Brooks and Bill Reichart formed the highest-scoring forward line in league history at the time.

John Mayasich coached the rival Green Bay Bobcats, and felt that the Mustangs had the strongest pair of forward lines in league history.

He played for the United States men's national ice hockey team at two Ice Hockey World Championships, winning a bronze medal in 1962.

During the 1970s, he served as the first national coaching director for the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States, developed its first coaching manuals and oversaw schools for hockey players and coaches.

He was inducted into the University of North Dakota Athletics Hall of Fame in 1977.

Johannson helped establish hockey at Rochester Lourdes High School and Rochester Junior College, before starting a minor ice hockey program in Rochester, Minnesota.

He served as general manager of the United States national team at the 1979 World Championships and preparations for ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics.

He arranged an exhibition schedule for the national team at the Metropolitan Sports Center prior to the Olympics, which included games versus the Minnesota North Stars, university teams, the Canada and Soviet Union national teams, and the Central Hockey League.

He resigned as general manager before the Olympics citing personal reasons, and had completed all of the necessary travel arrangements and accommodations for the national team which subsequently won the gold medal as part of the Miracle on Ice.

He was the father of professional hockey players John Johannson and Jim Johannson, the latter of whom also served as general manager of the United States national team.