US High School D Kenny Johnson – Draft-Eligible Prospects with NHL Bloodline’s
By Ryan Ritchie
US High School D Kenny Johnson – Prospects with NHL Bloodline’s
US High School D Kenny Johnson is number four on our list in a series dedicated to draft-eligible prospects with current or past family ties to the NHL. Kenny is the brother of Columbus Blue Jackets D Jack Johnson, drafted 3rd overall by Carolina back in 2005.
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Matthew Tkachuk, Jakob Chychrun, Alex Nylander, Kieffer Bellows, and Logan Brown are the first names to come to mind for 2016 draft-eligible prospects with current/or former NHL bloodline’s.
Both Keith Tkachuk and Michael Nylander had long, successful careers. Brian Bellows played nearly 1200 games, producing more than 1000 points. Jeff Brown also had a solid career posting 585 points in 747 points from the back-end. Jeff Chychrun was a 1984 draft pick, a veteran of 262 games playing until 1993-94, finishing his career with AHL Cape Breton.
We are featuring 15 draft-eligible prospects with NHL bloodline’s/family ties. The 2016 NHL Entry Draft will be held on June 24-25 in Buffalo, New York at the First Niagara Center.
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NHL Bloodline’s: US High School D Kenny Johnson
US High School D Kenny Johnson
Brother: Jack Johnson
A product of USA Hockey when drafted, Jack went on to play for the University of Michigan the following two seasons. During that time (September 2006), he was traded by Carolina with Oleg Tverdovsky to Los Angeles in exchange for Eric Belanger and Tim Gleason.
He made his NHL debut in 2006-07, appearing in five games with the Kings following his final season of college hockey. He joined Los Angeles full-time in 2007-08, posting 11 points in 74 games as a rookie. Jack spent nearly six seasons with LA, posting 124 points in 339 games. Traded just prior to the NHL Trade Deadline in 2012, Jack Johnson was sent to Columbus along with a 1st round draft pick in exchange for Jeff Carter.
Jack Johnson is still to-date a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. He has posted 120 points in 286 games since joining them in 2011-12. He has 244 points in 629 career NHL games.
He has only made three playoff appearances over his career, all three of which resulted in a first round six-game series loss. Jack has four goals, 15 assists (19 points) in 18 playoff games.
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Jack Facts:
– Jack played for Team USA at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada. He has also appeared for his country on the International stage on several occasions.
– He is married to the sister of former NFL quarterback Brady Quinn – Kelly Quinn.
– He won CCHA Offensive Defenseman of the Year his last season of college hockey.
Jack Johnson Files for Bankruptcy
“On November 20, 2014, the Columbus Dispatch reported that Johnson had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, claiming just $50,000 in assets against $10 to $15 million in estimated debts.
Shortly after signing his first major contract, a seven-year, $30.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Kings, Johnson granted his mother, Tina Johnson, power of attorney over all his finances. Over the next few years, Tina and Johnson’s father, Jack Sr., took out several large, high-interest loans against Johnson’s future earnings, a lending practice known as “monetizing,” and spent the money on homes, cars and travel.
Lenders, among whom was Iowa Congressman-elect Rod Blum, eventually brought three lawsuits against Jack Johnson for defaulting on over $6 million in debt. In court documents, Johnson claimed to have no knowledge of his parents’ spending, but will not pursue criminal charges against them. He has sued Miller, National Mortgage Resources and an investment firm, CYA Investments, for at least $1.5 million, including for punitive damages.”
US High School D Kenny Johnson – 97th Ranked North American Skater
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Following in the footsteps of his older brother, Kenny joined Shattuck St.Mary’s in Faribault, Minnesota. He spent 2012-13 with their Bantam T1 team, moving up to join their Midget U16 team in 2013-14, before eventually joining their Midget Prep team in 2014-15. The big 6’3 214lbs defenseman recorded 23 points in 47 games last season. He has doubled his scoring pace to nearly a point-per-game in 2015-16.
On a side note, it seems somewhat ironic that Kenny recorded 171 penalty minutes (triple any other season) in 2013-14, around the same time Jack’s financial family conflict occurred. Kenny was an angry young man over that span of time.
Kenny Johnson is committed to join the University of Michigan next fall, once again following the same path as Jack. Kenny is yet to represent his country on the International stage, as he doesn’t possess the high-end talent his brother did. A strong year at Michigan in 2016-17 and beyond can land him on USA Hockey’s radar for upcoming World Juniors in the next couple of years.
USATodaySports named Kenny Johnson to the All-USA Hockey Team after an impressive 2015-16 season.
Kenny Johnson via MiHockeyNow (Author: Michael Caples),
“My favorite memory was just running around the rink, I was so young that I didn’t watch the games very often, but it was really cool,” Johnson said. “I’d always go down to the glass and it’s still a tradition now, every time my brother comes out for warm-ups at his game, I’ll go down to the glass and he’ll bang his stick on the glass in front of me. He did it then…he even does it now in the pro games.
“To me, he’s not an NHL superstar or a great player. To me, he’s just my older brother. I don’t think of him as somebody who plays in the NHL and does all these great things. To me, he’s Jack. It’s really cool when I step back and think about how well he’s done and what he’s doing and what he’s going to do, but in the end, he’s just Jack, and nothing’s going to change that.”
Next: NHL Bloodline's: Graham McPhee
2016 Draft-Eligible Prospects With NHL Bloodline’s:
*NHL family ties in parentheses
| Ty Ronning (Cliff) | Riley Stillman (Cory) | Graham McPhee (George) | Kenny Johnson (Jack) | Casey Fitzgerald (Tom) | Mathieu Sevigny (Pierre) | Luke McInnis (Marty) | Hudson Elynuik (Pat) | Ben Hawerchuk (Dale) | Hayden Verbeek (Pat) | Garrett Pilon (Rich) | Kelly and Kevin Klima (Petr) | David Quenneville (John, Joel) | Fredrik Forsberg (Filip) | Kristian Reichel (Robert)
US High School D Kenny Johnson is producing 28 points in 36 games so far in 2015-16, adding 64 penalty minutes. Sounds as though he plays a very similar physical style as Jack, and loves to throw the big hit. Projected to be taken in the mid-rounds of June’s draft – this kid might be worth serious consideration.