It's been quite the wild ride for a particular 19-year-old individual.
While some fans are probably disappointed that the NHL and its players are not participating in this year's Winter Olympics in Beijing, an opportunity is awarded to a group of players like Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Kent Johnson, who gets to add another level of prestige to an already impressive résumé.
The 19-year-old University of Michigan center was drafted fifth overall by the Blue Jackets in last summer's NHL Entry Draft. While he plays out his sophomore season for the Wolverines in 2021-22, Johnson also participated in the World Junior Championships before that was cut short due to COVID-19.
Now he's filling out every young athlete's dream as he participates in his first Olympics, and it didn't take long for him to crack the scoresheet with two first period assists in Canada's 5-1 victory over Germany on Thursday.
Canada opens the Olympics with a 5-1 win over Germany. Two assists in the first period for #CBJ draft pick Kent Johnson in his Olympic debut. Not a bad start at all.
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) February 10, 2022
The first helper for Johnson came on Alex Grant's first period goal at 4:43 (at 20 seconds in the video below), as Johnson connected on a pass from the boards before getting the puck to Grant just inside the blue line. Grant fired a wicked shot past the German goaltender, Mathias Niederberger.
The second point for Johnson came on Ben Street's tally to make it 2-0 at 9:47 of the opening period (55 seconds). Johnson finished +1 with two assists.
Nice little debut for the "alternate" Kent Johnson #WinterOlympics2022#TeamCanada #BlueinBeijing@BlueJacketsNHL pic.twitter.com/s8Nf2xCQ2X
— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) February 10, 2022
Johnson is one of several active University of Michigan players participating in this year's Winter Olympics, and one of two Team Canada players with Blue Jackets ties. Adam Cracknell, who played for the Blue Jackets in 2014-15, had an assist versus Team Germany in Thursday's game.
Winter Olympians include a trio of hockey-playing Kines sophomores:
— Michigan Kinesiology (@UMKines) February 4, 2022
Brendan Brisson, SM '24 (for Team USA);
Kent Johnson, SM '24 (Team Canada); and
Owen Power, SM '24 (TeamCanada).
Congrats and good luck to all! Schedules: https://t.co/z066WPsQJJ #GoBlue https://t.co/PKbGti35jv
Aaron Portzline has been keeping up with Johnson as part of a Kent Johnson Diary series for The Athletic.
The following passage is from Part 4, as Johnson chronicles his past few months, and what it's like going through this unique Olympic experience with a teammate in defenseman Owen Power (2021 first-round overall pick by the Buffalo Sabres).
“It’s really cool that (fellow Michigan teammate) Owen (Power) and I can go through this together. He’s one of my best friends on the team, so it’s been great to have somebody to travel with and be on the ice with right away. The older guys have been really good to the young guys, so it’s been a smooth transition.”
In his current college season for the Wolverines, Johnson has a career-high 30 points (six goals, 24 assists) in 23 games.
One can only imagine the typical rigors and challenges of being a 19-year-old. Let alone one whose resumé includes being a top-five NHL draft pick, making Team Canada's roster to play in the World Juniors last December (after just recovering from COVID), and is now playing for his country in the Olympics. When he's not playing games for the Wolverines.
All in the span of less than one year.
Added to Team Canada's Olympic roster as an alternate in January, it was announced on Feb. 8 that Johnson would be added to the active 25-man roster ahead of Thursday's contest against the Germans.
Now after his two-point game in his Olympic debut, it's tough to imagine he sits as the Canadians move forward, but time will tell as Claude Julien reclaims his role as the boss behind the bench.
Kent Johnson and Team Canada will face Team USA on Friday at 11:10 pm ET.
