Former Vikings coach makes Vancouver a contender
Mike Johnston has achieved his original goal.
Back when Johnston was with the Augustana Vikings and coaching in the Viking Cup he had a dream of coaching five years in the National Hockey League. After several successful years at the helm of the Vikings, Johnston moved on to the University of New Brunswick. He came back to Camrose to coach again in the Viking Cup with his new team.
He continued to develop his coaching skills and eventually caught the eye of Marc Crawford and the Vancouver Canucks. When Crawford was named the Canucks head coach, he called Johnston to help him out as an associate coach.
Six years
“This is my sixth year coaching the Canucks, seventh if you count the lock out year. It’s exciting to coach the Canucks and be in a tough division where each game is important,” said Johnston, after the Canucks dropped a 3-1 decision to the Edmonton Oilers, Feb. 4.
Travel
The first question asked by friends and media when they see Johnston is how coaching is different in the NHL compared to the university game.
“Actually the coaching is not a lot different at all. What is different is the travel schedule. We are always on the go and on the road and sometimes it is difficult to get in good practices. With fewer games at the college level, more time can be spent practicing. Here players have to learn on the farm and then step right in and play when they get here.”
Vancouver probably has the toughest schedule of all the teams in the league because they are on the west coast and deal with the most time changes.
Good team
“We have a good team here with a lot of talent. Marc is great to coach with and it is a good environment. This team is good from the ground up. Our focus is to keep improving. One thing we take pride in is the fact that each one of the six years, we have improved. That says a lot about the coaches, players and the organization.”
Johnston has had brief discussions in the past about a head coaching job in Anaheim and with the New York Rangers.
“My goal was to last five years in the NHL and I’ve been here for six. If a head coach position comes up I will look at it, but I’m happy coaching in Vancouver with an up and coming team. I thank LeRoy Johnson for giving me the experience of coaching in Camrose. People at the university were great to work with.”
