There are over 600 players in the NHL. None, however, is labeled more appropriately than a promising young defenseman on the Kings’ blueline.
Is there any way a player named Jack Johnson could be anything but the All-American type?
Johnson, the Kings 21-year-old rearguard, was born in Indianapolis, attended prep school in Faribault, Minn., and went on to college at the University of Michigan. At Michigan, you guessed it, Johnson earned All-American honors. Johnson’s American roots run so deep, in fact, that he takes particular pride in another alma mater: USA Hockey.
After teaming with Sidney Crosby — a Canadian — at Shattuck-St. Mary’s, Johnson left Minnesota to spread his wings and fly as a member of Team USA’s National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich.
“It was a great experience for me,” Johnson said. “It was one of the best decisions I’ve made. I left home and the school I was attending and went to that program, and it couldn’t have worked out better. They helped me both physically and mentally. I was playing against the best players in the world a few times a year in international tournaments and practicing with the best players in the country every day.”
Los Angeles Kings - Features: THE ALL-AMERICAN TYPE - 02/13/2008