Cam Johnson (ice hockey)

Cam Johnson
Johnson with the North Dakota Fighting Hawks in 2016
Born (1994-07-11) July 11, 1994 (age 30)
Troy, Michigan, U.S.
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
AHL team
Former teams		 Springfield Thunderbirds
Binghamton Devils
Cleveland Monsters
Charlotte Checkers
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2018–present

Cam Johnson (born July 11, 1994) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League (AHL). He was an All-American for North Dakota.[1]

Playing career

Johnson began attending the University of North Dakota in the fall of 2014 and served as the backup to Zane McIntyre during his freshman year. McIntyre signed professionally after the year, giving Johnson a shot at the starting job. He eventually won the position and backstopped the newly named Fighting Hawks to a first place finish.[2] He was named an All-American for the year but faltered in the conference semifinals. Fortunately, the team's record was good enough to earn the #3 overall seed and UND went on a run through the NCAA Tournament. While the offense averaged 5 goals a game, Johnson didn't allow more than 2 goals in any of the four matches. He helped the program cruise to one of the more dominant postseason performances, winning the 8th national title in team history.[3] He remained with UND for two more seasons, serving as the primary starter. His numbers, however, were not as strong as they had been in the championship year. The Hawks finished 4th in the NCHC both years and only played one more game in the NCAA Tournament.

After graduating, Johnson signed with the New Jersey Devils and was assigned to their minor league affiliate.[4] His performance with Binghamton was less than impressive and he was demoted to the ECHL before his first full season was over. Johnson joined the Florida Everblades for the following season and began to acclimate to the pro game. While he only ended up playing in 7 matches during the COVID season in 2021, he resigned with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the 2021–22 season.[5]

Having claimed the Kelly Cup in the ECHL with the Florida Everblades during the 2021–22 season, Johnson left the Blue Jackets as a free agent in the off-season. On July 20, 2022, Johnson was signed to a one-year AHL contract with the Charlotte Checkers, the affiliate to the Everblades.[6]

Johnson and the Everblades won a second Kelly Cup in the 2022–23 season, and he become the first player in ECHL history to win back-to-back Kelly Cup Most Valuable Player awards. The following season, Johnson backstopped Florida to the first three-peat in ECHL history, with Florida winning their third consecutive Kelly Cup title.[7]

On July 30, 2024, Johnson was signed to a one-year AHL contract with the Springfield Thunderbirds, the primary affiliate to the St. Louis Blues.[8]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2011–12 Little Caesars 18U AAA HPHL 14 – – – – – – 2.77 .913 — — — — — — — —
2012–13 Fargo Force USHL 28 14 8 6 1644 84 0 3.07 .909 8 4 3 475 19 1 2.40 .931
2013–14 Fargo Force USHL 20 2 14 3 1174 64 1 3.27 .909 — — — — — — — —
2013–14 Waterloo Black Hawks USHL 15 11 1 1 840 26 1 1.86 .939 — — — — — — — —
2014–15 U. of North Dakota NCHC 2 0 0 0 43 4 0 5.54 .765 — — — — — — — —
2015–16 U. of North Dakota NCHC 34 24 4 2 1918 53 5 1.66 .935 — — — — — — — —
2016–17 U. of North Dakota NCHC 37 20 13 3 2212 88 4 2.39 .903 — — — — — — — —
2017–18 U. of North Dakota NCHC 29 12 9 7 1735 62 3 2.14 .910 — — — — — — — —
2017–18 Binghamton Devils AHL 3 0 1 2 185 12 0 3.90 .876 — — — — — — — —
2018–19 Binghamton Devils AHL 29 11 15 3 1695 107 1 3.79 .872 — — — — — — — —
2018–19 Adirondack Thunder ECHL 10 4 5 1 589 25 1 2.54 .915 — — — — — — — —
2019–20 Florida Everblades ECHL 21 13 5 1 1162 45 2 2.32 .925 — — — — — — — —
2020–21 Florida Everblades ECHL 7 6 1 0 406 12 2 1.77 .941 — — — — — — — —
2021–22 Florida Everblades ECHL 15 10 3 2 897 31 1 2.07 .913 18 15 3 1134 36 4 1.90 .931
2021–22 Cleveland Monsters AHL 20 6 9 3 1120 61 0 3.27 .882 — — — — — — — —
2022–23 Florida Everblades ECHL 55 26 20 7 3182 151 2 2.85 .907 22 16 6 1427 50 4 2.10 .922
2022–23 Charlotte Checkers AHL 1 1 0 0 60 3 0 3.00 .870 — — — — — — — —
2023–24 Florida Everblades ECHL 49 27 15 6 2877 106 4 2.21 .921 23 16 7 1401 44 3 1.88 .932
AHL totals

ECHL totals

53

157

18

86

25

49

8

17

3,060

9,113

183

370

1

12

3.59

2.44

.876

.916

—

63

—

47

—

16

—

3962

—

130

—

11

—

1.97

—

.928

Awards and honors

Award Year
College
All-NCHC Second Team 2015–16 [9]
AHCA West Second Team All-American 2015–16 [1]
NCAA All-Tournament Team 2016 [10]
ECHL
June M Kelly Award (Playoff MVP) 2022, 2023
Kelly Cup (Florida Everblades) 2022, 2023, 2024 [11][7]

References

  1. ^ a b "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  2. ^ "North Dakota Hockey 2018-19 Media Guide" (PDF). North Dakota Fighting Hawks. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 16, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  3. ^ "North Dakota Tops Quinnipiac for 8th N.C.A.A. Title". The New York Times. AP. April 10, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  4. ^ "Prospect Pipeline: G Cam Johnson joins Binghamton Devils". NHL.com. March 28, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  5. ^ "Blue Jackets re-sign goaltender Cam Johnson to one-year deal". Sportsnet.ca. July 16, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  6. ^ "Cam Johnson and Dominic Franco sign AHL contracts". Charlotte Checkers. July 20, 2022. Archived from the original on July 20, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Everblades make ECHL history with third straight Kelly Cup title". ECHL. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  8. ^ "T-Birds sign three players to AHL contracts". Springfield Thunderbirds. July 30, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  9. ^ "NCHC unveils All-Conference squads for 2015-16 season :: USCHO.com :: U.S. College Hockey Online". Archived from the original on 2016-03-11.
  10. ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  11. ^ "Florida wins 2022 Kelly Cup title". ECHL. June 12, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2022.