John August "Johnny" Pohl (born June 29, 1979) 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 ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

who played 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).

Playing career

Pohl played for the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

where he helped lead the team to the 2002 NCAA National Championship. He also was a standout player at

Red Wing High School Red Wing High School is a liberal arts, public high school located in the Mississippi River Valley, 50 miles southeast of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area, United States. The school is part of the Red Wing Independent School District (I ...

Red Wing, Minnesota Red Wing is a city in Goodhue County, Minnesota, Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States, along the upper Mississippi River. The population was 16,547 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Goodhue County. This ...

, where he grew up; during his senior year there he was voted Minnesota's 1998 "Mr. Hockey." Pohl was drafted 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 ...

255th overall in the

1998 NHL Entry Draft The 1998 NHL Entry Draft was the 36th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 27 at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York. A total of 258 players were drafted. The last active players in the NHL from this draft class were Brian Gionta, Mi ...

, and played one game with the Blues during the

2003–04 NHL season The 2003–04 NHL season was the 87th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup champions were the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won the best of seven series four games to three against the Calgary Flames. For the fourth time in ...

. He was traded to 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 ...

for future considerations on August 24, 2005. During the

2005–06 NHL season The 2005–06 NHL season was the 89th season of operation (88th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). This season succeeded the 2004–05 season which had all of its scheduled games canceled due to a labor dispute with the Nation ...

, Pohl played seven games for the Leafs and chipped in with three goals and one assist. His first goal in the NHL was scored in a 6–3 Maple Leafs victory against the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

on December 31, 2005. On February 17, 2007, Pohl recorded his first career two-goal effort against the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

. On July 29, 2009, Pohl signed a one-year contract returning to North America with the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...

of the American Hockey League.

Personal

His wife is

Krissy Wendell Kristin Elizabeth "Krissy" Wendell-Pohl (born September 12, 1981) is an American former women's ice hockey player, and current amateur scout for The Pittsburgh Penguins. During the 2004–05 season, Wendell set an NCAA record for most short-han ...

, former captain of the American national women's hockey team. Pohl had been introduced by her brother, Erik, who was Pohl's teammate and roommate at the University of Minnesota. Following his career in professional hockey, Pohl assumed a teaching job within the business department of

Cretin-Derham Hall Cretin-Derham Hall High School (CDH) is a private, co-educational Catholic high school in Saint Paul, Minnesota operated by the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. It is co-sponsored by the Brothers of the Christian Schools and the Sis ...

in Minnesota, and later

Hill-Murray School Hill-Murray School is a coeducational private Catholic school serving grades 6–12. It is located on a site in Maplewood, Minnesota, United States, a suburb of Saint Paul. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, i ...

also in Minnesota. In 2018, Pohl was named Athletic Director at

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* 1979 births Living people American men's ice hockey centers Chicago Wolves players Frölunda HC players HC Lugano players Ice hockey players from Minnesota Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players People from Red Wing, Minnesota Sportspeople from Rochester, Minnesota St. Louis Blues draft picks St. Louis Blues players Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlies players Twin City Vulcans players Worcester IceCats players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans NCAA men's ice hockey national champions {{US-icehockey-centre-stub