Brent Johnson
Brent Spencer Johnson ( born March 12, 1977 in Farmington, Michigan) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender who plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League since 2009.
Career
Brent Johnson started his career in 1994 in the Canadian Junior Football League OHL with the Owen Sound Platers. After his first season, he was selected in the NHL Entry Draft in 1995 by the Colorado Avalanche in the fifth round at position 129. He played two more years for the Platers in the OHL before Colorado 's rights transferred to him to the St. Louis Blues.
From the fall of 1997, Johnson played in the American Hockey League with the Worcester IceCats, the farm team of the blues. In the season 1998/99 he came to his first six missions in the National Hockey League and was able to convince, but still spent most of the season, and the entire next year in the AHL.
In September 2000, he was again invited to the training camp of the St. Louis Blues and competed with Dwayne Roloson for the post as a back -up goalie behind Roman Turek, each reckoned that the veteran Roloson would make the race. But Johnson was able to prevail. And spent the entire 2000/01 season in the NHL with the Blues and was allowed as a substitute goalkeeper 31 games contest, of which he won 19.
In summer 2001, Turek was transferred to the Calgary Flames and Johnson took the position as first-choice goalkeeper in the 2001/ 02 season. He thereby proved that he has what it takes to be a goalkeeper NHL teams and could get 34 wins and pointed a Gegentordurchschnitt 2.18 an outstanding value.
In the season 2002/ 03 Johnson was no longer the undisputed number one in St. Louis. Although he had completed 38 games, the most games of any goalkeeper in team, but a total of seven goalkeepers were the team in the season used. In addition to that with Chris Osgood a competitor has been committed, who had already won two Stanley Cups. Osgood took over in the season 2003/ 04 the position as the undisputed goalkeeper, while Johnson with Austrian Reinhard Divis shared the role as back-up goalie and rarely was used.
Even during the season, he was transferred in March 2004 to the Phoenix Coyotes, but where he had little luck and could pick just one win from eight games over the rest of the season.
The NHL season 2004/ 05 has been canceled due to the lockout and the summer of 2005 Johnson signed a contract with the Vancouver Canucks. Shortly before the beginning of the season put him the Canucks on the waiver list, because they wanted to send him to their AHL farm team, the Manitoba Moose. But the Washington Capitals took the opportunity and undertook Johnson of the waiver list.
As a back-up goalie Olaf Kolzig he graduated from the season in the NHL, but did not particularly shine, but also it was that the team was considered a " shooting gallery " of the league this season.
During the 2006/07 season the Capitals extended the contract with Johnson for two years.
Special
On February 4, 2006, in the game between the Washington Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning Brent Johnson and John Grahame was offset by a goalkeeper. The remarkable thing was that for the first time faced two goalkeepers who come from families that provide a NHL goaltender in the second generation. Johnson's father Bob and Ron Grahame's father were already in the NHL between the posts.
Family
The sport of ice hockey has great tradition in Brent Johnson's family. His father, Bob Johnson, played two seasons in the NHL for the St. Louis Blues and the Pittsburgh Penguins. His grandfather Sid Abel was one of the great players of the forties and fifties. He won three Stanley Cups, received the awards as the most valuable player of the NHL and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The Detroit Red Wings honored him with a banner with his number 12 hanging on the ceiling of Joe Louis Arena. The number is issued since then no player more. After his playing career, he coached for several teams in the NHL. In February 2000, Sid Abel died.