USA Hockey Assistant Executive Director Jim Johannson (Wisconsin) was memorialized Thursday in Colorado Springs. The general manager of the 2018 U.S. Olympic men’s ice hockey team, he passed away in his sleep on Jan. 21. He was 53.
A native of Rochester, Minn., Johannson played for the University of Wisconsin from 1982 to 1986, helping the Badgers to the NCAA title as a freshman. Drafted by the Hartford Whalers in the seventh round of the 1982 NHL Entry Draft, he played one year in Germany before going on to seven seasons in the International Hockey League with Salt Lake, Indianapolis and Milwaukee.
Johannson’s best professional scoring season came with Salt Lake in 1988-89, when he tallied a career-high 35 goals and 75 points. He also earned the IHL's Ironman Award in 1990, according to HockeyDB.com. A center, he was also a member of the U.S. National Team that finished seventh at the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary, plus the American squad that finished fourth at the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France, according to sports-reference.com. He also skated for the U.S. at the 1992 IIHF Men’s World Championship in Czechoslovakia.
Johannson joined USA Hockey in 2000 after spending five years as general manager with the Twin Cities (Minn.) Vulcans of the USHL, leading them to a national Junior "A" championship in his final campaign. According to USAHockey.com, during his watch with the national governing hockey body, American teams garnered 64 medals in major international competition, including 34 gold, 19 silver and 11 bronze. He also served as general manager for the gold-medal-winning U.S. National Junior men’s teams in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
The U.S. Men’s National Team will begin competition at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on Feb. 14.
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