Erik Johnson

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For other persons named Erik Johnson, see Erik Johnson (disambiguation).
Position Defence
Shoots Right
Height
Weight		 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
222 lb (101 kg/15 st 12 lb)
NHL Team St. Louis Blues
Nationality Flag of the United States United States
Born March 21, 1988 (1988-03-21) (age 20),
Bloomington, MN, USA
NHL Draft 1st overall, 2006
St. Louis Blues
Pro career 2007 – present

Erik Johnson (born March 21, 1988 in Bloomington, Minnesota) is an American ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the St. Louis Blues in the National Hockey League. He played for the National Team Development Program before being drafted 1st overall by the Blues in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Contents

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Junior career

Johnson played hockey for the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, Minnesota before transferring to Ann Arbor, Michigan to play for the NTDP. He was a member of the 2007 U20 American team that won a Bronze Medal in the U20 World Championships. Johnson was named to the tournaments All-Star Team and was named the Tournaments Best Defenseman. Johnson finished the tournament with 4 goals and 6 assists for 10 points, becoming the first defenseman to lead the tournament in scoring. He attended the University of Minnesota and was signed by the St. Louis Blues on April 20th, 2007.[1]

Johnson is one of the few Americans to have been chosen first in the NHL Entry Draft. The previous American to be chosen first overall was goaltender Rick DiPietro in 2000 by the New York Islanders. Mike Modano and Brian Lawton were also top American draft picks in 1988 and 1983 respectively, having both been selected first overall by the Minnesota North Stars. American Patrick Kane followed Johnson the following year going first overall.

[edit] St. Louis Blues

Erik Johnson scored his first NHL goal against the Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Bernier on Saturday October 6, 2007. It was also the game winning goal.[2]

In the 2007–08 NHL season he averaged over 18 minutes of ice-time per game. Johnson finished his rookie year with 5 goals and 28 assists in 69 games.

He has modeled his game after his favorite player Al MacInnis,[citation needed] who also played for the Blues, from 1994 to 2003.

[edit] Awards

  • 2005: Gold Medal (2005 World Junior Ice Hockey U18 Championships)
  • 2006: Gold Medal (2006 World Junior Ice Hockey U18 Championships)
  • 2006: Bob Johnson Award (Best American Player in International Competition)
  • 2007: IIHF U-20 World Junior Championship Best Defenseman Directorate Award
  • 2007: IIHF U-20 World Junior Championship All Star Team
  • 2007: Bronze Medal (2007 World Junior Ice Hockey U20 Championships)
  • 2007: WCHA All-Rookie Team
  • 2007/2008: NHL Played in the Youngstars Game

[edit] Career statistics

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2004-05 United States NTDP 54 11 15 26 26 -- -- -- -- --
2005-06 United States NTDP 47 16 33 49 88 -- -- -- -- --
2006-07 Minnesota Gophers NCAA 39 4 20 24 50 -- -- -- -- --
2007-08 St. Louis Blues NHL 69 5 28 33 30 -- -- -- -- --
NTDP Totals 101 27 48 75 114 -- -- -- -- --

[edit] International play

Played for the United States in:

[edit] International statistics

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
2005 United States WJC18 6 0 0 0 0
2006 United States WJC 7 1 3 4 18
2006 United States WJC18 6 4 6 10 27
2007 United States WJC 7 4 6 10 18
2007 United States WC 7 0 2 2 4
WJC U-18 Totals 12 4 6 10 27
WJC Totals 14 5 9 14 36

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Sidney Crosby		 First Overall Pick in NHL Entry Draft
2006		 Succeeded by
Patrick Kane
v • d • e
National Hockey League first overall draft picks

Monahan • Gauthier • Veilleux • Gibbs • Pagnutti • Plasse • Houle • Perreault • Lafleur • Harris • Potvin • Joly • Bridgman • Green • McCourt • Smith • Ramage • Wickenheiser • Hawerchuk • Kluzak • Lawton • Lemieux • Clark • Murphy • Turgeon • Modano • Sundin • Nolan • Lindros • Hamrlik • Daigle • Jovanovski • Berard • Phillips • Thornton • Lecavalier • Stefan • DiPietro • Kovalchuk • Nash • Fleury • Ovechkin • Crosby • Johnson • Kane
v • d • e
St. Louis Blues first-round draft picks
Edwards • Carr • Merrick • Davidson • Federko • Campbell • Babych • Turnbull • Wilson • Ruff • Lemieux • Osborne • Brind'Amour • Marshall • Reasoner • Backman • Jackman • Taffe • Belle • Schwarz • Oshie • Johnson • Berglund • Eller • Cole • Perron

[edit] References

  1. ^ St. Louis Blues (2007). Blues Sign First Overall Draft Pick Erik Johnson. StLouisBlues.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-12.
  2. ^ [1]