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Mike Johnston (ice hockey)

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Mike Johnston
Born (1957-02-19) February 19, 1957 (age 67)
Dartmouth, NS, CAN

Mike Johnston (born February 19, 1957) is the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team. Johnston had been coach and general manager of the Western Hockey League's Portland Winterhawks since 2008-09. Before that he was an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Kings and the Vancouver Canucks.[1]

Playing and Coaching Career

Johnston played hockey for Brandon University and Acadia University and then became a coach at the age of 23. He at first coached Augustana University College in Alberta and then was an assistant coach at the University of Calgary. In 1989 he took over as head coach at the University of New Brunswick, a job that lasted until 1994.

In 1994 he became general manager and associate coach of the Canadian national men's hockey team. In 1998 he became the head coach for one season. He then spent six seasons as, at first, an assistant coach and then as an associate coach with the Vancouver Canucks. After that he was an associate coach of the Los Angeles Kings.[2] He was the coach and general manager of the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL from 2008-2014 where he amassed a record of 231-114-10-10, landing him second on the Winterhawks' all-time wins list.[3]

Besides all this, Johnston has extensive experience in international play. He won the gold medal at the 1997 and the 2007 World Championships. He also won the silver in 1996 and the bronze in 1995. In 1994 and 1995 Johnston won the gold at the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

Suspension

After an investigation by the Canadian Hockey League, Johnston was suspended by the Western Hockey League for the duration of the 2012–13 WHL season, after it was revealed he offered improper player benefits and committed various recruitment violations over a four year period. Some of the noted improper benefits Johnston offered to Winterhawk players included paying for their families to come to Portland multiple times during the season by subsidizing travel costs to the city, financing private summer training programs and providing cellular telephones to the team captains. As a result of the violations, Johnston was forced to hand over his general manager and head coaching positions to assistant coach Travis Green, who would guide the club to the Ed Chynoweth Cup. As a punishment for violating league rules, the team was forced to forfeit the first five rounds of the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft, along with their first round draft picks until 2017. The investigation into Johnston's conduct came months after the Ontario Hockey League's Windsor Spitfires were fined for improper player benefits and recruitment violations. Johnston's suspension was lifted at the end of the season.[4]

NHL Coaching record

Team Year Regular season Post season
G W L OTL Pts Finish G W L Result
PIT 2014–2015 10 7 2 1 11
PIT Total 10 7 2 1 11 0 0 0
Preceded by Head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins
2014–present 		Incumbent

References

  1. ^ "Mike Johnston Named Head Coach". Pittsburgh Penguins. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  2. ^ "Mike Johnston profile at HockeyDB.com". HockeyDB.com. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  3. ^ "Mike Johnston By The Numbers". Portland Winterhawks. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  4. ^ "Winterhawks punished for violations". foxsports.com. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
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