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Pelletier and Houda look back at
key performers from the Canada Cup/World Cup of
Hockey
Badger Bob Johnson Biography
Badger Bob Johnson is
probably the best known American hockey coach. His
legendary run in university hockey, his long tenure
as coach of the NHL Calgary Flames and Pittsburgh
Penguins and his 1991 Stanley Cup championship were
all highlites in a career laced with too many to
count.
But his truest
passion in hockey and in life was devoted to the
development of hockey in his native America. Despite
all of his success in Calgary, he quit that job to
become executive director of USA Hockey. His
involvement with the American hockey program was
storied well before that - head coach of the US
national team in 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1981, as
well as head coach of the 1976 US Olympic teams.
Johnson was also the
coach of Team USA at the Canada Cup tournaments from
1981 through 1991. The incredible improvements in
American hockey in this period are due in a large
part to Johnson. Johnson's career mirrored his
international success, as he also skyrocketed
forward in success and respect.
After a strong career
at the collegiate and national team levels, many
considered Johnson as a premiere coaching prospect.
There were certainly critics though, as college
hockey and the US national team were always somewhat
dismissed by the NHL. College hockey was never a
real option for NHL teams looking for new talent
until the 1980s, but that slowly changed during the
1970s, partly because of people like Johnson.
And likewise, Johnson never really earned the
respect he deserved at that level. The NHL wanted to
see him duplicate his success at a higher level.
Johnson had the
opportunity to do just that in 1981 when he was
asked to coach the American entry in the 1981 Canada
Cup. The American's had put in a yeoman's effort in
1976, but were clearly not as good as the big 4
hockey nations. But in 1981 Johnson employed
youthful skaters - including his son Mark - to
choreograph what most agreed was a
"surprising" performance in the 1981
Canada Cup. Not only had Team USA earned a lot more
respect, but Johnson finally silenced his critics
that claimed he could not handle professional
players.
Armed with that
strong performance on his resume, the NHL began to
really take Johnson seriously. By 1982, he became a
head coach of the Calgary Flames. Johnson would
raise the Flames to an almost equally as explosive
and great team as their provincial rivals from the
north - the fabled Edmonton Oilers. Johnson would
eventually lead the Flames to the Stanley Cup
finals, but would fall short to the Montreal
Canadiens in 1986.
Before that though,
he again agreed to step behind the American bench at
the 1984 Canada Cup. Just like his Flames, the
American hockey program continued to show
significant progress under Badger Bob. He
masterminded a strong showing in the round robin -
finishing second overall! Only the Russians had a
better record. Although the Americans would lose
their one game playoff showdown against Sweden, the
respect for Johnson and the American hockey program
continued to grow. After all, he managed to get his
group of players to finish ahead of Canada!
Johnson did not coach
in 1987, but returned for 1991. The American team
never looked stronger. The media was proclaiming
that they were on the verge of replacing the
politically confused Soviets as hockey's new super
power. With Johnson, who had just come off of his
first Stanley Cup championship a couple months
earlier with Pittsburgh, the Americans were certain
to be a contender.
However just a couple
days before the Canada Cup was to begin, Johnson was
hospitalized and diagnosed with having two brain
tumors. Instead of coaching he was in a Pittsburgh
hospital undergoing delicate surgery and receiving
radiation.
Such a blow would
cripple most teams, but Johnson made sure this would
not harm his teams chances. He was a huge part of
the team, providing inspirational notes and
leadership. Even as he lied in a hospital bed
fighting for his life, he was busy making tactical
notes as he watched the games on tv.
Johnson's leadership
insured the American team would achieve its destiny,
the team would fall just short against the Canadians
in the finals. Johnson would pass away a couple of
months later.
Wherever hockey
legends eternally rest, Johnson must have enjoyed
watching the World Cup. With his notebook probably
still in hand, he hopefully witnessed the
finalization of a plan that he was largely
responsible for. He saw his team emerge from a
dismissed after thought to a strong contender to the
most powerful team in all of hockey. In 20 short
years, no hockey program grew as strong or as
quickly
Johnson's
fingerprints were all over the 1996 World Cup
championships too. Somehow he had influenced almost
every player on that team somewhere along the line.
It might have been in Calgary or in Pittsburgh. It
might have been in other camps for other major
tournaments. It might have been in the summer hockey
camps or even back to his the University of
Wisconsin days.
In that respect,
Johnson was very much a big part of that
championship team.
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