IIHF Hall of Fame Induction 2019
Jim JOHANNSON
Paul Loicq Award
Born Rochester, Minnesota, United States, 10 March 1964Died Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, 21 January 2018
Represented by his wife Abby and daughter Ellie the late Jim Johnson was the recipient of the 2019 Paul Loicq Award during the 2019 IIHF Hall of Fame Ceremony at Double Tree by Hilton Hotel Bratislava on May 26, 2019 in Bratislava, Slovakia.
For those who didn’t know him, he was Jim Johannson of USA Hockey. For those who did, he was “JJ.” And, for those in the former category, if you were in hockey, you got to know JJ pretty quickly. Before his untimely death at age 53, he was a presence at most top-level IIHF events, representing both his country and the game with friendly dignity and a strong moral compass.
Johannson was a Hartford Whalers draft choice in 1982. He went on to play four years of NCAA hockey at the University of Wisconsin, helping the Badgers to a national championship in 1983. After graduating in 1986, he embarked on a pro career in the IHL.
During his university career, Johannson played at two World Junior Championships, and as a pro he played at the 1988 and 1992 Olympics and the 1992 World Championship. His brother John and late father Ken had also donned the red, white, and blue sweater for the U.S., and as time would tell, it was JJ’s fate to be more actively involved in USA Hockey as an executive than as a player.
After retiring in 1994, JJ joined the Twin Cities Vulcans, a Junior A level team in the USHL, as their general manager. During his five years there he built a team that won the national championship in 2000, and at that point USA Hockey jumped in.
JJ began his career there as general manager of international activities and within three years was promoted to senior director of hockey operations. Four years later, he became assistant executive director, a position which more or less put him in charge of every team the United States assembled for IIHF competition, men and women.
Under his watch the U20 team won three gold medals, most memorably in Ufa in 2013. Johannson helped develop the U18 program for men, which also became the dominant team at the world level in that event, and he was responsible for the selection of players to the 2010, 2014, and 2018 Olympics.
More than titles, though, he was both professional and humble, competitive and ethical, hard-working and amiable. He was taken too early, but by the time he left he had already made a lasting mark on the game worldwide.
Johannson was a Hartford Whalers draft choice in 1982. He went on to play four years of NCAA hockey at the University of Wisconsin, helping the Badgers to a national championship in 1983. After graduating in 1986, he embarked on a pro career in the IHL.
Induction Speech
During his university career, Johannson played at two World Junior Championships, and as a pro he played at the 1988 and 1992 Olympics and the 1992 World Championship. His brother John and late father Ken had also donned the red, white, and blue sweater for the U.S., and as time would tell, it was JJ’s fate to be more actively involved in USA Hockey as an executive than as a player.
After retiring in 1994, JJ joined the Twin Cities Vulcans, a Junior A level team in the USHL, as their general manager. During his five years there he built a team that won the national championship in 2000, and at that point USA Hockey jumped in.
JJ began his career there as general manager of international activities and within three years was promoted to senior director of hockey operations. Four years later, he became assistant executive director, a position which more or less put him in charge of every team the United States assembled for IIHF competition, men and women.
Under his watch the U20 team won three gold medals, most memorably in Ufa in 2013. Johannson helped develop the U18 program for men, which also became the dominant team at the world level in that event, and he was responsible for the selection of players to the 2010, 2014, and 2018 Olympics.
More than titles, though, he was both professional and humble, competitive and ethical, hard-working and amiable. He was taken too early, but by the time he left he had already made a lasting mark on the game worldwide.