Craig Thomas Johnson (born March 18, 1972), is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player who played ten seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He was drafted 33rd overall by the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...

in the

1990 NHL Entry Draft The 1990 NHL Entry Draft was the 28th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted by the Vancouver Canucks at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, on June 16, 1990. It is remembered as one of the deeper drafts in NHL history, with fourteen of the twenty- ...

and went on to play 563 games in the NHL. Internationally Johnson played for the American national team in several

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

and the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

. He is currently working in the player development department for the Kings.

Career

Johnson made his NHL debut during the 1994–95 season with St. Louis. He scored the first goal at the

Kiel Center Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland pe ...

when it opened in 1995. On February 27, 1996, Johnson was traded with

Patrice Tardif Patrice Pamphile Tardif (born October 30, 1970) is a former professional ice hockey centre who played for the National Hockey League's St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings. Biography Tardif was born in Thetford Mines, Quebec. As a youth, he pla ...

Roman Vopat Roman Vopat (born April 21, 1976) is a Czech former professional ice hockey player. He played four seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks, and Philadelphia Flyers. He is the you ...

, and two draft picks to the Los Angeles Kings for Wayne Gretzky. He remained a King for another seven seasons until 2003 where he played for three teams during the 2003–04 season, the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

, and

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...

. Johnson moved to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

, signing with the

Hamburg Freezers The Hamburg Freezers were a German professional men's ice hockey club from Hamburg, Germany that played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The club announced its withdrawal from the DEL and ceased operations on 24 May 2016 when Anschutz Entertainment ...

. After one season he signed with the DEG Metro Stars in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

where he spent two seasons. In 2007, Johnson moved to Austria and signed with Red Bull Salzberg. Johnson returned to the Orange County area and coached youth hockey at

Santa Margarita Catholic High School Santa Margarita Catholic High School (SMCHS) is a coeducational college preparatory Roman Catholic high school located in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, United States. SMCHS is owned and operated by the Diocese of Orange, and was opened in ...

and for the

Anaheim Jr Ducks Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

youth team. He was an assistant coach for the

Ontario Reign The Ontario Reign are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Ontario, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings, the team plays i ...

in 2010–11 and joined the player development staff for the Los Angeles Kings in 2018. He returned to the Reign, now in the AHL, as assistant coach in 2020. He is working as co-head coach of the Reign with Chris Hajt.

Personal life

His son

Ryan Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) *Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an elector ...

, a defenseman, was drafted in the first round by the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

in the

2019 NHL Draft The 2019 NHL Entry Draft was the 57th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 21–22, 2019 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia. The first three selections were Jack Hughes going to the New Jersey Devils, Kaapo Kakko being select ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Craig 1972 births Living people American men's ice hockey left wingers DEG Metro Stars players EC Red Bull Salzburg players Hamburg Freezers players Ice hockey coaches from Minnesota Ice hockey players at the 1994 Winter Olympics Los Angeles Kings coaches Los Angeles Kings players Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players Olympic ice hockey players of the United States Peoria Rivermen (IHL) players St. Louis Blues draft picks St. Louis Blues players Sportspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota Toronto Maple Leafs players Washington Capitals players Worcester IceCats players Ice hockey players from Saint Paul, Minnesota