Joseph John Johnston (born March 3, 1949) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 ...

coach and former professional player. Johnston played 331 games 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). Johnston was once a coach for the

Douro Dukes The Colborne Cramahe Hawks were a Canadian Junior ice hockey team based in Colborne, Ontario. The Hawks were members of the World United Hockey League. Competing in the Greater Metro Junior 'A' Hockey League from 2007 until 2014, the Hawks orig ...

of the

Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League The Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League (GMHL) is a Canadian developmental junior ice hockey league. The league has primarily had teams in the Greater Toronto Area, Central Ontario, Northeastern Ontario, and Quebec. In 2019, they added three t ...

. Born in

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada, he played in the 1961

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with his hometown youth team. He played junior hockey for the

Peterborough Petes The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league. ...

from 1964 to 1967. His play attracted the attention of the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

who selected him eighth in the 1966 Amateur Draft. He made his professional debut with the Rangers'

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

affiliate

Omaha Knights The Omaha Knights was the name of three minor league professional ice hockey teams from 1959 to 1965 and from 1966 to 1975, based in Omaha, Nebraska, at the Ak-Sar-Ben (arena), Ak-Sar-Ben Arena. The Knights were founded in 1959 as members of the ...

but was traded to the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

in a trade for

Dave Balon David Alexander Balon (August 2, 1938 – May 29, 2007) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. Balon played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League between 1959 and 1973 before multiple sclerosis led to his retirement. Playing ...

. Johnston started his NHL career with the Minnesota North Stars in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

, but spent most of his time in the minors until 1971–72, when he became a front-line player for the

California Golden Seals The California Golden Seals were a professional ice hockey club that competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1967 to 1976. Based in Oakland, California, they played their home games at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. The S ...

. His high-water mark came during the 1972–73 season through 1973–74 season, when for a Golden Seals team savaged by defections to the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

he rose to the forefront, leading the team in goals both seasons with 27 and 28 respectively and being named to play in the NHL All-Star Game in 1973, 1974 and 1975. As virtually the Seals' only star, he was named team captain in the fall of 1973. However, his production in the 1974–75 season was half that of the year before, and he was traded to the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in June 1975. In August of that year, Johnston was injured in a car crash. The injuries caused him to miss the Chicago training camp and the first 12 games of the season. His scoring touch deserted completely, managing only five assists in 32 games, and he finished the season in the minor leagues, retiring thereafter at the age of 27. He finished his NHL career with 85 goals and 106 assists for 191 points in 331 games, adding 320 penalty minutes. He returned to Peterborough and took up coaching while working as a contractor. His brother Jim also played professional ice hockey, playing several seasons in the International Hockey League.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Joey 1949 births California Golden Seals players Canadian ice hockey forwards Chicago Blackhawks players Living people Minnesota North Stars players New York Rangers draft picks Oakland Seals players Sportspeople from Peterborough, Ontario