Adam Johnson, who died tragically on Oct. 28 while playing professional hockey in England.
The 29-year-old Johnson, a former Pittsburgh Penguins forward, was playing his seventh game of his first season with the Nottingham Panthers in the Elite Ice Hockey League when his neck was sliced by Sheffield Steelers’ Matt Petgrave’s skate blade during an on-ice incident. Johnson died later that night at Northern General Hospital in Sheffield due to his injuries.
“It still doesn’t seem real. “You just wake up every day hoping it was a horrible dream,” Pionk explained.
Pionk and teammates Alex Iafallo and Dylan Samberg, who played with Johnson at various levels of hockey, addressed the Winnipeg media for the first time since his passing.
“Getting through the mornings has been the hardest part. Coming to the rink has been a good distraction. It’s been a whirlwind, the last 10 days,” said Pionk, who has played five games since Johnson’s death and has found solace in his job.
“It’s difficult for me to care about the game or even postgame because when I get home, all I can think about is him. I just think about his family. I sat on the couch, and it is all I think about. I try to text and phone pals, and when I go home, I hardly think about the game. So maybe it’s for the best: think less and just play.”
Pionk said he has been meeting with the Jets’ team psychologist and will continue to do so as he works through his grief.
“It’s been useful because you don’t plan for situations like this. When you lose one of your best friends unexpectedly and tragically, you need someone to talk to, so he’s been great.”
Attending Johnson’s funeral and celebration of life in his birthplace of Hibbing, Minnesota, on Sunday and Monday was especially beneficial to Pionk, Iafallo, Samberg, and Jets center Dominic Toninato.
True North Sports and Entertainment Executive Chairman Mark Chipman arranged for the four Jets players to fly from Arizona to Minnesota to honor Johnson before joining the club in St. Louis for their game against the Blues on Tuesday, November 7. That night at the Enterprise Center, Pionk scored at 16:15 in the first period and was overtaken with emotion when he returned to the bench.
“That wasn’t a coincidence. His mother invited me to speak (at Johnson’s celebration of life), and I couldn’t have been more honored. So, you go to speak at something like that and then come back to score a goal? There is no coincidence in that. I don’t score very often, and (Johnson) always made fun of me. He would always exclaim, ‘OMG, that’s such a lucky goal,’ when I scored, so it’s the simple things – everything I do, everything on a daily basis – that remind me of him.”
The heartbroken athletes were extremely moved by Chipman’s empathic act.
Forever grateful. I can’t put it into words. It’s as if we would have arrived regardless, but we’d only be there for 8-10 hours. With the charter, and I can’t thank Mark Chipman enough, we were able to stay more than 24 hours there. So, there was no reluctance, and (Chipman) simply stated, “Whatever you need, anytime you need it, it’s there.” Boom, I was overwhelmed. It was much appreciated, Pionk explained.
Iafallo shared Pionk’s gratitude.
“A lot of respect for them. I could thank them a hundred times over for allowing us to miss practice to att
Pionk claims he isn’t wearing or displaying any keepsakes in his dressing room stall to honor his friend, aside from a neck guard, following Johnson’s terrible tragedy. Johnson participates in Pionk’s daily activities.
“Everything on the ice, whether it’s the way he tied his skates or the way he skated,” said Pionk, who had an emotional memory during the Jets’ morning skate on Oct. 30 in preparation for the New York Rangers-Jets first game after Johnson’s death.
“I started sobbing because I shot a puck into the net, and on the first summer skate of every year, he would shoot a puck into the net, come up to me, shoulder me, and say, ‘I still go it, hey?’. So it’s simple things like that. It makes me chuckle, but it may also make you sad or upset. So that was the challenge. He used to make fun of everything I did, including how I taped my stick. So, while I tape my stick, I can hear him scoffing at me or something like that. It’s all I do. I often think of him and his family.
Pionk and Johnson’s friendship began while they played on Hibbing High School’s premier league team, blossomed over two years as juniors with the Sioux City Musketeers in the USHL, and continued for two years at the University of Minnesota Duluth. The two pals were roommates in college and beyond, and they continued to train together in Minnesota throughout the offseason after turning pro. Pionk stated that he would travel to Johnson’s hometown at least twice a summer to stay with his friend’s parents, a routine he intends to continue.
“They’ve been through a lot, but they’ve remained quite strong throughout. I cannot possibly imagine. Like, they probably feel ten times what I do. So it will be critical for me to stay in touch with them. As I already stated, he was like a brother to me. He was a groomsman in my wedding, and I knew he had plans for me to attend his wedding, which was coming up.”
Johnson was preparing to marry while still continuing his university study in England in preparation for his post-hockey career next year, making his death even more difficult to accept.
“He was ready to rebuild his life and move on from hockey. I know it was difficult for him, but seeing that his life was going to be spent raising children and starting a family is terrible. It simply sad that this happened to such a fantastic guy and family,” Iafallo remarked.
