Interview with Mike Johnston -- the Head Coach, Vice President and General Manager of the WHL's Portland Winterhawks.
In this inaugural episode of the Neutral Zone Podcast, we talk with Mike Johnston, the Head Coach, Vice President and General Manager of the WHL's Portland Winterhawks. Learn about Mike's rise in the coaching world from Canadian College hockey to Hockey Canada in the Olympics and all the way up to the NHL. Having coached some of the greatest players to ever to hit the ice, including Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby, find out what he looks for when scouting junior players to Portland.
EPISODE BREAKDOWN:
0:00: Introduction
0:42: Mike's Playing Career
COACHING:
2:50: CIS: Camrose Lutheran College (Univ Alberta-Augustana Campus)
4:55: CIS: University of New Brunswick
7:08: Hockey Canada & '98 Olympics
12:09: NHL: Vancouver Canucks Ast Coach
18:06: Shift to the CHL's Western Hockey League (WHL)
SCOUTING
19:11: WHL: Portland Winterhawks
28:10: NHL: Pittsburgh, LAK & Vancouver
COACHING
29:04: Back to Portland (WHL)
40:33: Coaching Sidney Crosby & Wayne Gretzky
45:39: Coaching Junior Players
48:26: NFL Pittsburgh Steelers Meeting Sit-Ins & Video Review
51:10: Impact of the Seattle Kraken
52:51: Portland Winterhawks Drafting American-Born Players & Team Culture
Let us know what you think on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_Neutral_Zone
Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com