Erik Johnson

At 36 years old, Erik Johnson has this physical status:

Erik Robert Johnson (born March 21, 1988), also known as The Condor, is an American ice hockey defenseman who is currently playing and serving as an alternate captain for the Colorado Avalanche in the National Hockey League (NHL).

He played for the St. Louis Blues for a brief time, with whom he began his NHL career.

In addition, he has appeared in numerous tournaments for the United States. Johnson, the first overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, was drafted by the Blues from USA Hockey's National Team Development Program and spent one season at the University of Minnesota before joining the NHL with St. Louis in 2007.

Personal life

Sean Duffy, a Republican strategist and former U.S. Representative for Wisconsin's 7th congressional district, is Johnson's uncle.

Johnson is a founder and commercial racehorse breeder for ERJ Racing, LLC, in addition to his stellar work as an NHL defenseman. "My escape from hockey and my passion is through my hobby," he says.

Landeskog, one of his racehorses, is named after his colleague Gabriel Landeskog.

Source

Playing career

Johnson played hockey for the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, Minnesota, where he appeared in his two seasons as a freshman and sophomore in the prep school. With 13 goals and 34 points in 2003-2004, he led all defenseman in scoring to be selected to the Missota All-Conference Team. As a 16-year old Johnson, he moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to compete for the National Team Development Program (NTDP).

He split time between the U.S. National under-17 and under-18 squads in 2004, compiling 26 points in 57 games, the highest defenseman in the country's tops. Johnson continued his development in the coming season, scoring a team-leading 49 points in 47 games with the under-18's. He was originally chosen to be suited to the professional ranks due to his hybrid two-way design and physical fitness. Johnson, who is also having a major influence on the international stage, was chosen first overall in the 2006 NHL Entry draft by the St. Louis Blues. He was the first American-born defenseman to be named first overall without having played Canadian major junior or collegiate hockey. In an NHL Entry Draft, he was one of five (now eight) Americans selected first overall, alongside Patrick Kane, Auston Matthews, and Jack Hughes.

Johnson, who attended the University of Minnesota, became the first Golden Gopher and Minnesotan to finish first overall. Despite his desire to turn pro, Johnson did not sign a professional deal with the Blues, becoming the first player to play college hockey after being selected No. 1 overall. Johnson quickly established a top defensive role in his rookie season with the Golden Gophers during the 2006–07 season, scoring 4 goals and 24 points in 41 games to lead all WCHA rookie defenseman and earn a spot in the WCHA All-Rookie Team. Johnson completed his undergraduate career after being contracted by the St. Louis Blues to a three-year, entry-level deal on April 20, 2007.

Johnson attended the Blues' Development Camp and the 2007 Prospects Tournament, concluding his collegiate career. In a 5–3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on October 6, his first career NHL goal was made. With 7:17 left in the third period and became the game-winning goal, the goal was scored on a power play. Johnson sustained a slight bone fracture in his foot while playing three games with the Blues. As a result, he was re-assigned to the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League (AHL) on a conditioning stint. Johnson re-joined the Blues on November 7, but the team had trouble getting back into the lineup. However, he started a fruitful rookie season as he became a mainstay in the Blues' lineup. He ranked for 10th among the NHL rookies and fourth on the team with a plus-10 rating by January. He was selected for the 2008 YoungStars Game, as a result. As the season progressed, his ice time fluctuated from a season high of 22:0 to a season-low 11 minutes, though he usually averaged 17 minutes per game. In 69 games, he completed his rookie season with over 18 minutes of ice-time per game to go with 5 goals and 28 assists.

Johnson suffered his right knee injury in the 2007 offseason, which kept him sidelined for the first three days of training camp. Johnson was later discovered by the team's orthopedic surgeon that he had torn his ACL and suffered a tear to his MCL. Johnson underwent successful right knee ACL surgery in November. Johnson returned to the 2009–10 season with ten goals and 39 assists for 39 points after missing the 2008–09 season due to a knee injury. Johnson re-signed with the Blues on August 2, 2010, as a restricted free agent.

Johnson was appointed an assistant captain with David Backes, Bart Jackman, and Alexander Steen in the first year of his new contract. In 29 games before suffering a knee injury in December 2010, Johnson tallied one goal and nine assists in 29 games.

Following his knee surgery, Johnson was traded to the Colorado Avalnche, along with Jay McClement, a conditional first-round pick, in exchange for Chris Stewart, Kevin Shattenkirk, and a conditional second-round pick. Johnson made his Avalanche debut at San Jose's HP Pavilion on the day in a 4–0 loss to the San Jose Sharks. Johnson scored his first goal as a member of the Avalanche in his second game. Johnson was named "Play of the Week" award by Avalanche as a result of his goal against St. Louis. He had three goals and seven assists for ten points in 22 games during the remainder of the season.

Johnson started the 2011–12 season well, but after that, he was put on injured reserve in November due to a groin injury. Johnson began his assist/point streak in January and led all Avalanche defensemen with 18 points. Johnson finished the season by leading all Colorado defensemen in scoring with 26 points, while averaging 20:50 of ice time per game. "Since Erik's arrival in Colorado has brought stability, shape, and an offensive presence to our blueline, and we are thrilled to have him under contract."

Johnson played in his 300th NHL game on January 23, 2013. It was revealed that Johnson would be out indefinitely after suffering a head injury in a game against the Phoenix Coyotes just a few weeks later. Johnson made a career-high eight hits against the Dallas Stars, his second Avalanche to reach this milestone since the league began tracking statistics in 2005.

Johnson was advised by head coach Patrick Roy to return with less volume and less weight ahead of the 2013–14 offseason. As such, he concentrated on mobility and agility, losing 10 pounds. Analyst Ray Ferraro praised Johnson for his "aggressive without being careless" when he returned to school for the 2014–15 season. He continued to play offensively and led all NHL defensemen with a career-high 12 goals by January. He also ranked first on the Avalanche in terms of goals, average ice time, blocked shots, and power-play goals. As a result, he became the first Avalanche defenseman to be selected for the NHL All-Star Game since Rob Blake in 2003-04. Johnson did not participate in the All-Star Game nor the final 34 games of the season due to a knee injury. Despite this, Johnson signed the Avalanche's seven-year, $42 million contract.

Johnson remained largely healthy for the 2015–16 season and appeared in 73 games to reach the 500-game record. Throughout the season, he scored his 50th career goal against the Dallas Stars on October 10, 2015. Nearly a month later, Johnson scored 200 career points with an assist on François Beauchemin's victory over the Boston Bruins. For third among the Avalanche blueliners in scoring with 27 points, he finished the regular season with 11 goals and 16 assists for third. This was his third straight season in which he finished the year as one of the top-scoring defenders on the team.

During the 2017–18 NHL season, Johnson played in his 600th NHL game, losing 7–2 to the Dallas Stars in December 3, 2017. Johnson commanded the squad at the time, and the team was the fifth fastest in the league in average ice time at 26:24 minutes. Johnson was suspended for two games on December 17, 2017, after boarding Tampa Bay Lightning forward Vladislav Namestnikov.

Johnson became the first defenseman from the 2006 draft to reach 300 points on February 29, 2020. He is the 37th defenseman to reach the 300-mark in NHL history.

Johnson sustained a concussion after Minnesota Wild forward Jordan Greenway's head collided with the ice and the ice made contact with the ice. Johnson did not play during the regular season, and although he returned to practice during the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Avalanche were eliminated in the second round by the Vegas Golden Knights, he did not get to play.

The 2021 NHL Expansion Draft was set to be hosted with the addition of the Seattle Kraken to the NHL in advance of the 2021–22 season. In this situation, neither team had the opportunity to shield only a select number of players, and Johnson was one of the Colorado players who had contractually promised protection. However, he declared that he would waive his no-movement guarantee, shielding the Avalanche's younger defencemen from being chosen. The Kraken did not take Johnson, opting instead for Joonas Donskoi. Johnson missed the start of the season due to a bout of COVID-19. Johnson scored the game-winning goal of a 4–1 victory over the Wild on October 31, 2021, marking his 12th with the team. He moved into second place in franchise history in game-winning goals scored by a defenseman after this milestone.

In the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Avalanche defeated the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2002, after three seasons of being disqualified in the second round of the playoffs. The Avalanche won the series in four games against the Tampa Bay Lightning, defeating the Edmonton Oilers. On June 26, 2022, the Avalanche finally defeated the Lightning in six games to win the Stanley Cup championship.

Source