Jim Johannson

James Johannson (March 10, 1964January 21, 2018) was an American ice hockey player, coach and executive.

James Johannson was born on March 10, 1964, in Rochester, Minnesota, and was commonly known as "J.J."

He was the youngest of two boys and one girl to Ken Johannson and Marietta Sands, which included his older brother John Johannson.

During the 1970s, Johannson's father served as the coaching director of the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States, and was the general manager of the United States national team in 1979 and 1980.

As a youth, Johannson and his brother spent summer vacations at hockey camps operated by their father, were included in photographs demonstrating skills for coaching manuals, were stick boys at selection camps for the US national team, and handed out shoes and jackets to the players.

Johannson played ice hockey as a center, was a right-handed shooter, and was listed as 6 ft and 201 lb.

He played 374 games in the International Hockey League (IHL) after being selected by the Hartford Whalers in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft.

He played in the Minnesota state high school tournament with Mayo High School in 1982, and was tied as the tournament's leading scorer with seven points.

He was recruited by family friend Bob Johnson to play for the Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey program along with his older brother John.

Johannson signed a letter of intent in March 1982 to attend the University of Wisconsin–Madison, then was selected by the Hartford Whalers in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft, 130th overall in the seventh round.

From 1982 to 1986, Johannson played for the Badgers, and won a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship as a freshman in the 1982–83 season.

He played for the United States national junior team at the World Juniors in 1983 and 1984, then played for the United States national team at the Winter Olympics in 1988 and 1992, the Ice Hockey World Championships in 1992, and was captain of the silver medal-winning team at the 1990 Goodwill Games.

As an amateur, he played for the Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey program and won the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship in 1983.

Johannson was twice named to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association All-Academic team, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a degree in sport management.

He received the Fenton J. Kelsey Award as the most competitive player on the Badgers for the 1983–84 season, in which he scored 17 goals and 21 assists as a sophomore.

As a junior, he was named to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) All-Academic team for the 1984–85 season.

He was second in goal scoring for the Badgers during the 1985–86 season as a senior, when his collarbone was broken in a body check.

He missed 12 games due to the injury, then completed his college career with 63 total goals in four seasons.

He received the Wisconsin Williamson Award as a scholar athlete, and was again named to the WCHA All-Academic team.

He graduated from Wisconsin with a degree in sport management, but was not offered a professional contract by the Hartford Whalers.

Johannson began his professional career playing in West Germany with EV Landsberg in the 2nd Bundesliga during the 1986–87 season.

He scored 46 goals for EV Landsberg and felt that his skating improved while playing in Europe.

He later recalled that he loved his time in Germany and stated, "I got so much ice time, it was great. We had nothing else to do. I had a key to the rink".

He became an unrestricted free agent after the season, then trained for two hours daily during the summer with skating coach Jack Blatherwick to become faster.

He won the Turner Cup as the IHL playoffs champion with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in 1988, then again with the Indianapolis Ice in 1990.

The Calgary Flames signed Johannson on February 25, 1988, and assigned him to their minor league affiliate team, the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in the International Hockey League (IHL) for the remainder of the 1987–88 season.

He scored five goals and two assists in his first eight games in the IHL.

He led the league with 15 assists during the 1988 playoffs, and scored eight goals to help the Golden Eagles win the Turner Cup as the IHL playoffs champions in 1988.

At the training camp for the Flames in 1988, coach Terry Crisp felt Johannson deserved an opportunity despite the depth of the organization at the center and right wing positions.

Johannson returned to the Golden Eagles where he set a team record with eight short-handed goals during the 1988–89 season.

He played in all 82 games during the season, scored 35 goals and 40 assists, then was released.

Despite not making the NHL roster, Johannson stated that the Flames treated him well and that he departed on good terms.

Johannson discussed a potential contract with European and National Hockey League (NHL) teams, then agreed to terms with the Chicago Blackhawks in October 1989 and was assigned to the Indianapolis Ice in the IHL.

He played 264 consecutive games spanning three seasons by 1991, and received the Ironman Award from the IHL in recognition of his durability.

After retiring as a player, Johannson was head coach and general manager of the Twin Cities Vulcans in the United States Hockey League, and led them to the Junior A National Championship in the 1999–2000 season.

He worked in several executive positions for USA Hockey from 2000 to 2018, co-operated with the United States Olympic Committee, and oversaw all men's and women's national hockey teams.

During his tenure with USA Hockey, national teams won a combined total of 64 medals in International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) competitions.

He helped acquire Compuware Arena to become the home rink for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, and was general manager of the men's national team at the 2018 Winter Olympics until his death three weeks before the games began.

He was posthumously given the Lester Patrick Trophy in recognition of growing hockey in the United States, received the Paul Loicq Award from the IIHF for contributions to international ice hockey, and inducted into the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame.

He was son of Ken Johannson who also served as general manager of the United States national team, and was the younger brother of professional hockey player John Johannson.