Buzz Johnson (ice hockey)

Russell "Buzz" Johnson is an American retired ice hockey Center who played for North Dakota after World War II.[1]

Buzz Johnson
Born (1922-01-09)January 9, 1922
Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA
Position Center
Played for North Dakota
Playing career 1947–1950
Medal record
World Championship
Representing  United States
1949 Stockholm Ice hockey
1950 London Ice hockey

Career

When North Dakota was preparing to bring back its ice hockey program after World War II, brothers Buzz and Prince Johnson were playing amateur hockey for the Grand Forks Amerks and came to the attention of Cal Marvin, who was leading the effort to rekindle the team.[2] Both players began attending the University of North Dakota and made their debuts in the 1947–48 season. The team played well with Johnson on the team, posting their first double-digit win season. The team flagged the following year because Johnson had played well enough to be included on the US national team for the 1949 Ice Hockey World Championships.[3] While missing the entire season for North Dakota, Johnson was nearly a point-per-game player over the eight games as the US won the bronze medal. He did, however, have an even greater impact after the championship was over; Zdeněk Marek, a member of the gold-medal-winning Czech team had decided to hide in Stockholm rather than return to Czechoslovakia because he was not a member of the Communist Party. During his time playing for the team he had confided his trepidation at returning home to Johnson and his brother. The two promised to assist Marek in earning a student visa so he could defect to the United States. The plan came to fruition when North Dakota offered Marek a scholarship on July 12, 1949.[4] Marek was eventually granted permanent resident status by an act of congress and lived in the United States until his death in 2019.[5]

For his senior season, Johnson helped North Dakota to a 15-6-2 record, finishing just behind Colorado College for the second spot in the NCAA tournament. Johnson's 50-point campaign set a new program record that he shared with his brother[6] and he became one of the first two players in North Dakota history to be named as an AHCA All-American.[7]

After the college season had finished, Johnson was again a member of Team USA at the 1950 Ice Hockey World Championships and finished second on the team in scoring to help the US to a Silver medal.[8] He was unable to repeat his diplomatic coup as the entire Czech team had been prevented from leaving the country when the government discovered that several players were planning a similar tactic as Marek.[9]

Johnson was inducted into the North Dakota hall of fame in 1981.[10]

Statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1947–48 North Dakota NCAA 1588168 —————
1948–49 North Dakota NCAA DNP DNP
1949–50 North Dakota NCAA 2327235043 —————
NCAA totals 38353166— —————


International
Year Team   GP G A Pts PIM
1949 United States 8 3 4 7 6
1950 United States 7 6 10 16 10
Totals 15 9 14 23 16

Awards and honors
Award Year
AHCA Second Team All-American 1949–50 [7]
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References
  1. "Joe McCusker". BC Eagles. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  2. "Hockey History". TheRalph.com. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  3. "Team USA Roster @ Ice Hockey World Championships 1949". Quanthockey.com. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  4. "Zdenek Marek". United States Congressional Serial Set. September 19, 1950. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  5. "Zdenek Rudolf Marek". Daily Freeman. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  6. "North Dakota Hockey 2018-19 Media Guide" (PDF). North Dakota Fighting Hawks. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  7. "1949-1950 All-American Team". The American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
  8. "Team USA - Ice Hockey World Championships 1950 - Player Stats". Quanthockey.com. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  9. Tal Pinchevsky, Breakaway: From Behind the Iron Curtain to the NHL (John Wiley & Sons, 2012) pp36-38
  10. "UND Hall of Fame - By Induction Year". North Dakota Fighting Hawks. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
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