USA Women's Hockey

Since the day he was selected as coach of the U.S. Women’s National Under-18 Team May, Joel Johnson has had one date on his mind.

“We’re not going to say we’re the best team,” said Johnson, who’ll coach Team USA in the IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship in Buffalo, N.Y., that begins Jan. 4. “We’re not going to guarantee anything. But we’ve talked since Day 1 about Jan. 12, and brought that date up to the kids. That’s the date of the gold-medal game.”

Johnson believes the team selected for the World Championship roster has what it takes to win, and says that’s the goal.

“National teams and select national teams are defined by the color of their medal,” he said. “We certainly know that our goal is to win, and we’re not afraid to say that’s going to be what we’re aspiring to accomplish.”

Yet as far as Johnson is concerned, any medal in Buffalo — be it gold, silver or bronze — isn’t the ultimate definition of this roster, the young women in the U18 national program or of his work with them.

To Johnson, the associate head coach of the women’s team at the University of Minnesota, his main focus is teaching. If he can assist his players to become better players and people while also raising the level of U.S. hockey, then he’s hit his primary target.

“The ultimate goal for our program is to win a gold medal in the Olympics, because that is the highest opportunity in the sport,” he said. “So U18, while it has its own tournament, it’s also a part of that growth and development process for our players on the ice … and into their careers with USA Hockey.”

That’s one of the reasons Johnson was selected as national coach.

Reagan Carey, director of the women’s national program for USA Hockey, has worked with Johnson at national camps and as an assistant for the U18 national team, and she admires his ability to teach and help young players advance.

“He’s got a ton of patience and a real desire to make sure these players are continuing to learn to develop,” she said, “and at this age that’s critical for us. Whether it’s the future of the U18 team or the long-term goals, we have to build that player pool and build the players for the national-team level. So his patience, his understanding of the game and his ability to communicate and teach that to this age group is critical. He does a great job at that.”

Since his selection as U18 coach this spring, Johnson has been balancing his work for the national program with his work at Minnesota, which has been very successful under head coach Brad Frost. Johnson says Frost has been very supportive.

Johnson has been able to juggle both assignments while remaining with the Gophers. Much of his work with the national team came during summer camps, the U18 August Festival and games with Canada before he returned to Minnesota in the fall. He’ll have to leave the Gophers in January for the World Championships.

“It’s going to be a bummer to be apart from the team, but it’s maybe a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you want to take,” he said.

The United States last won the U18 World Championship in 2011 in Sweden, completing a stretch of three championships in four years. Going into this tournament, however, Canada has won three straight championships with the U.S. earning silver in 2012, 2013 and earlier this year in Hungary.

Johnson says this roster, which includes the likes of defenseman Jincy Dunne — who at age 16 nearly made the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team for Sochi — Northeastern University goaltender Brittany Bugalski and forward Rebecca Gilmore, is built on a solid foundation.

“The backbone of any good team is goaltending,” Johnson said. “The last several World Championships and competitions at the U18 level have typically come down to games that are very close at the end, so the better goaltending that you can have certainly allows you to compete, no matter what. It starts there.”

He also cited a deep group of defensemen and some talented forwards.

“It comes down to combinations of players up front, trying to find the right matchups, players that have experience and bring different elements of speed, size, ability to score,” he said. “So you’re really trying to put a puzzle together in order to create offense. …

“But we’re going to try to be a team that’s built from the goal out and see if we can defend first. I think if we do that we give ourselves a chance to win.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.