Johnson's crew has set a new school record for wins each season he has been at the helm, including an NCAA record-tying 36 victories in the 2005-06 campaign. Johnson was named the 2006 AHCA Div. 1 Coach of the Year after leading the Badgers to their first WCHA Regular Season, Playoff and NCAA championships as well as having one of his players, Sara Bauer, earn the program's first Patty Kazmaier Award.
As an accomplished athlete, coach and humanitarian, Johnson continues to be honored with awards. He received the NCAA Silver Anniversary award in 2005 for his accomplishments in the 25 years following his days as a student-athlete. In 2004 he was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame for his accomplishments as a player and coach and in 2003 he was inducted as a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team. Vince Lombardi Charitable Funds honored Johnson's volunteer work by presenting him with the 2004 Award of Excellence. He also earned the honor of coaching the U.S. national team at the 2007 IIHF Women's World Championship next April in Manitoba.
Named the 2003 WCHA Co-Coach of the Year and also one of eight finalists for the AHCA Div. 1 Coach of the Year, Johnson guided Wisconsin to a 22-8-5 overall and 14-6-4 WCHA record that season.
In 2004-05, the Badgers made history under Johnson, winning a record 28 games (28-9-1) and earning the program's first NCAA tourney berth. The team climbed as high as No. 2 in the national rankings by defeating then-No. 2 UMD in the WCHA tournament and forcing overtime by scoring two goals in the final minute vs. No. 1 Minnesota in the title game.
Johnson and the Badgers carried the momentum into the 2005-06 campaign as Wisconsin debuted at No. 1 in the USCHO.com preseason poll and then went on to validate that distinction with a 36-4-1 record and a national championship.
The third head coach in the program's history, Johnson joined the staff after serving as assistant coach with the men's program from 1996-2002. During that time, he helped the team to a WCHA regular-season title in 1999-2000, as well as a WCHA Final Five championship in 1997-98.
Johnson has also coached professionally, directing the expansion Madison Monsters to a 37-30-7 mark in the 1995-96 season and earning Colonial Hockey League coach of the year honors. He also led a pair of area high schools, serving as head coach of Verona from 1994-95 and assistant for Madison Memorial from 1993-94.
Johnson was an assistant coach with the 2002 U.S. Men's National Team that competed in the IIHF World Championship in Sweden. He had previously served in a similar capacity for the 2000 World Championship in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 2001, he was an assistant coach at the U.S. Olympic Men's Hockey Orientation Camp in Colorado Springs, featuring 38 of the top American players in the NHL.
In his playing career, Johnson helped Wisconsin to the 1977 national championship as a freshman. The first Badger to win WCHA Rookie of the Year honors, he went on to become the school's second all-time leading scorer with 256 points on a school-record 125 goals and 131 assists in just three seasons. The 1978-79 WCHA MVP, Johnson was a two-time, first team All-WCHA pick and a two-time All-American. In 2002, he was also selected as one of the "WCHA's Top 50 Players in 50 Years."
Johnson has represented USA Hockey as a player in 13 international tournaments, with his most recent appearance as part of the U.S. team at the 1998 IIHF (A-Pool) World Championship Qualification Tournament in Austria. Most notably, he led the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team's Gold Medal-winning effort with 11 points, including two goals in the "Miracle-On-Ice" win over the Soviet Union and an assist on the game-winning goal against Finland in the final contest. The team attended the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games to light the flame and was honored by Sports Illustrated as giving us the `Greatest Sports Moment of the Century'.
Following his Olympic experience, Johnson embarked on a successful 11-year NHL career. He began his pro tenure with Pittsburgh in 1980, and also played for Minnesota, Hartford, St. Louis and New Jersey thru 1990. Over 669 career NHL contests, the forward collected 203 goals and 508 points, highlighted by his 87-point season as captain of Hartford in '83-84. He also tied an NHL All-Star game record with three assists that season.
A 1999 inductee into the IIHF Hall of Fame, Johnson is the son of legendary UW men's coach Bob Johnson (1966-82).
One of Wisconsin's most decorated athletes in any sport, Johnson was inducted into the State of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003 and is also a charter member of Wisconsin's National W Club Hall of Fame.
Johnson earned his B.S. in kinesiology from UW in 1994. He resides in Verona, Wis., with his wife Leslie and children Douglas, Christopher, Patrick, Mikayla and Megan.
