Sports

The return of J.J. -- Aces sign veteran winger

Justin Johnson's long, remarkable journey, which last spring landed him briefly in the world's best hockey league, has come full circle – he's back with the Alaska Aces, the hometown club for which he made his pro debut eight years ago.

The ECHL champions on Tuesday announced they have signed Johnson, who in April became the 14th Alaskan to play in the NHL, for the upcoming season.

Johnson's career is a tale of perseverance and unyielding self-belief, and of a dream fulfilled.

After East High and the U.S. Hockey League, he walked on at UAA and played there for four seasons. He was released twice by the Aces and once by the ECHL's Idaho Steelheads. And yet he carried on, finally forging a foothold as a grinding winger and enforcer in the ECHL, including the 2009-10 season with the Aces, ascending to the American Hockey League for four seasons and finally arriving in the NHL with the New York Islanders.

At 33, the guy everyone in Anchorage hockey calls either J.J. or The Governor is ready for his homecoming, and the Aces are happy to have him.

"This is the place I've always wanted to be,'' Johnson said. "Every year I've been gone, I've missed what's going on back here.

"You get to the point where you both want each other. Home really is where the heart is, where I want to be.''

ADVERTISEMENT

Aces coach Rob Murray said he expects the veteran to lend his club toughness and leadership, and perhaps gain a role as a penalty killer.

"He has to play a physical game, get in on the forecheck and use his body to make physical plays,'' Murray said. "Of course, there's his intimidation, but he has to be able to play. I think his experience playing in the AHL has raised his skill level since he was here the last time.

"He's not coming here to a retirement home. He's here to play.''

Johnson's credentials as a fighter are indisputable. He has engaged in 128 fights in the regular season and playoffs, and he sent a ripple through the NHL and the Internet in April when he dropped then-Buffalo Sabres enforcer John Scott, who is 6-foot-8, with a crushing left hook.

Johnson said he expected the 2010-11 season, his first in the AHL, to be his final one. He turned 30 shortly after that season. But his success in the AHL continued to fuel his dream of making the NHL, where he played two games.

"The wave gained momentum,'' he said, "and I just continued to ride it.''

Murray called Johnson the kind of player who sets an example for teammates and holds them accountable. Johnson said he aims to mentor Alaska's young players and teach them how to be pros. He appeared at the Aces' offices Tuesday afternoon in suit and tie to do media interviews.

"In my head, I go into every season wanting my teammates to think I'm the best teammate they've ever had,'' Johnson said. "To be a good teammate, you have to be selfless, you have to be willing to bring energy, embrace your role, set the tone in the locker room and the weight room.''

Expect Johnson, an outgoing, social sort who is entering his ninth pro season, to be heavily involved in the Aces' work in the community.

"The Aces are a huge presence in this town and state, and I'll do anything I can do to continue that, and enhance it,'' Johnson said.

Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com and check out his blog at adn.com/hockey-blog

Doyle Woody

Doyle Woody covered hockey and other sports for the Anchorage Daily News for 34 years.

ADVERTISEMENT