As the Wisconsin women’s hockey team prepares for the first round of the WCHA playoffs against Minnesota State after locking up a conference title, head coach Mark Johnson has already received another honor – one in the name of his father.
The University of Wisconsin Athletic Department announced Monday that the ice at the Kohl Center will be renamed “Bob Johnson Rink” at the beginning of next season in honor of the legendary coach who, along with coaching in the NHL and Olympics, led the Badgers to three national championships.
“It’s a great tribute to him and the men’s hockey program,” Mark Johnson said of the tribute to his father. “He did a lot for hockey; not only in Madison, but in the state of Wisconsin.”
Bob Johnson began his hockey coaching career after serving as a medic during the Korean War. After coaching high school hockey in Minnesota, Johnson moved to UW where he served as head coach until 1982.
Bob Johnson led the Badgers to seven NCAA appearances, including national championships in 1973, 1977 and 1981. He also coached multiple players who blossomed into notable NHL skaters while at Wisconsin.
Bob Johnson was inducted into the Wisconsin Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987, the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991, the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993.
He was diagnosed with brain cancer in 1991 and passed away later that year. But his legacy lives on.
“Shortly after he passed away, the letters, the stories; I didn’t realize the impact he had on so many players,” Mark Johnson said.
Bob Johnson’s coaching career was only just beginning at Wisconsin, however. In 1982, Bob Johnson began his NHL coaching career as head coach of the Calgary Flames, where he stayed for five years. He later won the Stanley Cup in 1991 with the Pittsburgh Penguins and became the second American coach in NHL history to win the cup.
He stayed involved on the international circuit as well, coaching the U.S. men’s hockey team in the 1976 Olympics and the Canada Cup tournament four times.
“His passion was hockey,” Mark Johnson said of his father. “He was selling hockey whether it be here in Madison, internationally or here within the United States.”
Bob Johnson’s passion for hockey has worn off on his family as well. With Mark Johnson as the Wisconsin women’s hockey coach, his five children have all delved into the sport. Doug Johnson is now a coach for a U-14 girls team, while Patrick and Chris Johnson both played college hockey, and his two daughters play youth hockey.
Mark Johnson also says his father would be proud of the present state of women’s hockey across the nation.
“He would’ve really enjoyed what’s happened to the women’s game,” Mark Johnson said. “To see where women’s hockey has come in the last 12 or 13 years, he would’ve loved it.”
As coach Mark Johnson and his team prepare for their playoff game, it is undeniable that Wisconsin hockey’s recognition has grown tremendously over the last few decades. Mark Johnson has brought four national title banners back to Madison with the women’s team, which has moved from playing in the Coliseum to the Kohl Center and will compete in the new La Bahn Arena starting next year.
Although the women’s team is switching arenas, Mark Johnson remains proud of his father’s name, which will emblazon the Kohl Center ice.
“For the 15,000 that will come to the Kohl Center on a regular basis to watch men’s hockey over the next 25 years, whether they’re young, whether they’re old, they will be able to see his name on the ice,” Mark Johnson said.
