HIBBING — The life of former Hibbing/Chisholm Blue Jacket and Minnesota Duluth Bulldog Adam Johnson was celebrated Monday in his hometown on the very ice sheet he grew up playing on.
Johnson, who died Oct. 28 at age 29 after being cut by a skate in the neck while playing professional hockey in the United Kingdom, was remembered by those who loved him as a talented hockey player, a caring friend and loving fiance.
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What he was not was a good guitar player, despite the amp, instrument and lessons his parents, Susan and Davey, paid for when he was 13.
On Monday at Hibbing Memorial Arena, where that guitar and amp now rested on the ice, thousands clapped along and cheered as the band Hobo Revival closed Johnson’s memorial service playing the song Johnson so desperately wanted to learn as a teenager, AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long.”
His failed exploits as a musician — shared by the band at the very end — was one of the many stories shared by coaches, teammates and family about Johnson, who former Blue Jackets coach Mark DeCenzo called, “a great person, who also happened to be a great hockey player.”
“He was a player other players wanted to play with, not just because he was talented. There are a lot of talented hockey players that nobody wants to play with. They wanted to play with him because he was unselfish, he was fun to be around, and he elevated their play,” said an emotional DeCenzo while being comforted at the podium by Davey Johnson. “He didn’t brag. He let his play do the speaking for him. He was humble.”
DeCenzo was one of four of Johnson’s coaches who spoke Monday along with former Blue Jackets assistant coach — now head coach at Grand Rapids — Grant Clafton, Bulldogs head coach Scott Sandelin and Nottingham Panthers assistant coach Kevin Moore.
Clafton was one of many who told stories about Johnson’s quick wit. For Clafton, he was often a target for Johnson on the golf course, after hitting a shot that was well off target.
“I made the mistake of telling Adam not to worry. ‘I was really tight from 150 yards out,’ and I could carry us there. Needless to say, I did not fulfill that expectation I set,” Clafton said. “For the remaining years in golf, Adam reminded me just how pathetic of a showing I had. Every time we golfed from thereafter, if I had a bad drive, he’d say, ‘Don’t worry Grant. You’re tight from 150.’”
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Clafton called Johnson one of the “more pure and genuine” people he knew. Panthers’ chief executive Omar Pacha, who also came to Hibbing along with Moore, to speak Monday, echoed that sentiment in his remarks.
Johnson was in his first season playing for the Panthers in the U.K.’s Elite Ice Hockey League in 2023-24 after playing last season in Germany. Johnson also played in Sweden, the American Hockey League and with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins during his pro career.
Pacha described Johnson as a talented hockey player, who was humble and unselfish. He had “zero ego” and a “contagious smile.”
“Often, players that come to our league understandably have multiple questions, and at times can be quite demanding on numerous things such as accommodations, flights and cars, but not Adam,” Pacha said. “He kept saying, ‘Omar, I’m low-maintenance. Don’t worry about me.’
“I will never, ever forget the two words he would always finish every conversation with, with everybody at the arena. ‘Thank you.’ Always humble, always polite, always grateful. That was our No. 47.”
Former teammates of Johnson’s who played with him at Hibbing Memorial Arena — where Johnson’s No. 7 is now painted on the ice and will be retired Dec. 5 — that spoke Monday included Michael Pechnovnik, Jake Doherty, Joe Anderson and Billy Wherland
Two of Johnson’s former teammates at Minnesota Duluth, Neal Pionk and Parker Mackay, also shared stories. In addition to being teammates of Johnson’s during his two seasons at UMD from 2015-17, they were roommates of his in Duluth.
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Pionk, who also played two seasons with Johnson on the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers, said you knew Johnson liked you if he greeted you with an insult. You knew he loved you if he’d continue the banter throughout the day.
“We continued showing this unique way to show our love throughout our relationship,” said Pionk, who was one of several Winnipeg Jets players who was flown in by the franchise for Johnson’s funeral on Sunday and memorial on Monday. “This year in Winnipeg, we started the season with one win and three losses. One of Adam’s last texts to me was, ‘You’re off to an abysmal start. Pick it up.’ I’m going to miss those texts every single day.”
Mackay thanked Johnson for “rewarding” him with the nickname “Holy snowshoe” after getting beat by Johnson by “half an ice sheet” in an end-of-summer conditioning drill. He recalled the phone call he got from Johnson in summer 2017 when Johnson decided to turn pro and sign with the Penguins.
Mackay, now a scout for the Boston Bruins, said it was an exciting, but devastating phone call. There were a couple “FUs," but the conversation ended as all of theirs did, with a quick, “I love you, bud.”
“Sue, Davey, the entire Hibbing community, I want to thank you for raising one of my best friends and someone I will always look up to,” Mackay said. “Your generosity, infectious smile and genuine personality are all traits I will carry with me forever. This conversation will end no differently than others we’ve shared in the past, Adam. I love you buddy, and I’ll miss you every day.”
Adam Johnson is survived by his mother, Susan Johnson; father, Davey Johnson; brother, Ryan; sister-in-law and friend, Ebony Johnson; and fiancée, Ryan Wolfe.
This story was updated at 10:37 p.m. Nov. 6 with the name of the band that played at Monday's memorial service. It was originally posted at 9:31 p.m. Nov. 6.
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