Interesting Jack Johnson Article
Came across this article, and thought it was worth posting. It talks about Jack Johnson's slow-but-steady progress in gaining his degree from Michigan.
Does anyone know how close he is to getting a degree? He went through 2 years and I know he's come back every summer, so he should at the very least be an academic senior by now when you consider his online classes. It'll be awesome to see him get his degree. Only player I know of that went straight to the NHL by leaving early and took Red's airport promise, but he still wants that degree.
And if he needs something to do with his life after he's done destroying things in the NHL, I hope someone lets him know about the awesome coaching program we have here at Michigan. I'm sure Billy Powers will be close to retirement by the time Jack is done with the NHL (Assumimg Red doesn't live and coach until he's 110).
In 1979, Red Berensen won the Jack Adams trophy in the NHL...that's a while ago...an eternity. Red's been coaching for an eternity. I figure it to stay that way and completely expect him to be coaching at 110 and beyond. I'd predict 130 and beyond but I am unsure if Barwis has him on a training program and/or has given him any wolves to keep around as pets.
So, any bets on who retires first, Red or Joe Pa?
I just came to post this. What a great article that makes me wish JMJF was on the Red Wings even more.
My favorite quote from the article:
"But I'm very proud of being a Michigan athlete, a Michigan student and it's always something I'll have in my pocket. It's a priceless thing to have."
JMFJ is a MICHIGAN MAN!
If he'd waited until after he graduated, he'd have gotten a contract that was better than the one he took after his soph season, and he'd also be done with school. Now he's 23 and still taking summer school. I don't get it.
Provided my sarcasm detector reading is accurate...
He's 23 years old with a few million bucks in the bank, scheduled to make another $1.65 million next season, a few years closer to free agency, and has an Olympic silver medal. Get it? And with rookie salary caps in place for entry level contracts, I don't know how much better a contract he could have gotten. I can't fault him for leaving, not that I ever expected him to stay four years.
He could have stayed and gotten his degree on time, but so what? He didn't have much left to prove at the college level and I don't think the NHL pays you extra for having a college degree, but good for him for continuing to pursue it. It's too bad we don't see these type of articles on the other guys who left early. I am curious to know how many other early departees, if any, finished their degree.
Every hockey player dreams of playing in the NHL, for one and beyond this the opportunity to start working there at such a young age had many benefits...a) you can't know that your body gives you 4 years at Michigan, b) entering the league younger puts you on a path to free agency years younger and c) school is available online whereas the NHL not so much.
Good on you Jack Johnson for following through.
He's got a younger brother! Imagine a JMFJ 2.0, heck I'd be happy with a JMFJ .5.
His little brother's name is Kenny according to JMFJ's blog via Google:
http://www.jackjohnson3.com/blog.html
If the kid is good enough for college hockey, I'm sure its only a matter of time. The Johnson family is as Michigan as it gets, and I'm sure Jack Sr. would be down for another 2-4 years of dancing at 2nd intermission.
Hmmmm...somewhere right now in Southern California Lane Kiffin stirred.
I'm 100% dead serious. My orientation is 100% to the University of Michigan. You win championships with guys like Jack Johnson playing as upperclassmen.
If Brendan Morrison had left after his sophomore season, Red doesn't get his first championship. If more top guys had stuck around for their junior and senior seasons over the last ten years, Red would have at least one more NC and probably two.
I admit I have the quaint and unfashionable and unpopular notion that sticking around and graduating on time is being the ultimate Michigan Man. Jack Johnson was going to be a very wealthy man regardless of when he went pro, and sticking around for his junior and senior years was not going to rob him of his NHL dreams. It doesn't matter to me in the slightest that he's eligible for free agency two years sooner; by my standards, he's extremely rich regardless. That may be a smart business decision for him, but that's not why I root for Michigan hockey. The chances of injury ruining his career in college are tiny in comparison to what football players face.
More than a few of the most talented players Red recruits use him and Michigan's reputation and the exposure they get playing here to burnish their credentials to get that fat NHL contract, and once they get it they're gone, and the coaching staff doesn't get to reap the benefits of all the coaching and teaching they do during the freshman and sophomore seasons.
Red has made plenty of statements over the years expressing his disappointment when players leave early, although I don't know if he made any when JJ left, since it seemed to be a foregone conclusion from the beginning that he was 2 and out. It's JJ's right to leave early and I'm glad that he's pursuing his degree. However, I don't hold him in the same regard as I do guys who stay for 4 and graduate.
More than a few of the most talented players Red recruits use him and Michigan's reputation and the exposure they get playing here to burnish their credentials to get that fat NHL contract, and once they get it they're gone, and the coaching staff doesn't get to reap the benefits of all the coaching and teaching they do during the freshman and sophomore seasons.
Every player at Michigan has been scouted since, at the latest, they were ten years old and is known to Central Scouting, to each team's scouts (except the Leafs because they are inept) and to the OHL/CHL (ask the London Knights or Windsor Spitfires, specifically).
The players receive a great opportunity at Michigan to earn a degree that carries real value in our society while making them better people and broader human beings. Guys who would be getting "fat NHL contracts" would be getting them regardless...Red's a great coach but so is Bob Boughner in Windsor or Dale Hunter in London. Bluntly, they will be seen by far more scouts in the OHL than playing at Michigan. At the highest levels, and Jack Johnson is at that place, players stay until they have the most immediate opportunity to maximize their earnings whether that is in major junior or college hockey.