A few days before the final roster was to be announced for Team USA at the World Cup of Hockey, Jack Johnson got a phone call from a member of USA Hockey's management team who asked him to meet the group in Cleveland for dinner, along with fellow defenseman Erik Johnson. The two players had earned a silver medal together at the 2010 Olympics but had been left off the 2014 team.
Typically, when it comes to roster selections, no news is good news. But Jack Johnson had no clue what an invitation to dinner signaled for his chances, so he immediately called Erik Johnson (no relation) to see if he knew anything more.
"Both of us had the same question: Did this mean we were on the team?" said Jack, a 29-year-old blueliner for the Columbus Blue Jackets. "We just didn't know. We had never been invited to dinner like that before and were second-guessing ourselves the entire time leading up to it."
Team USA general manager Dean Lombardi, who is also the GM for the Los Angeles Kings, and coach John Tortorella, who also coaches the Blue Jackets, were both in Cleveland to watch their respective AHL affiliates battle in the Calder Cup playoffs.
"John and I wanted to meet with Erik and Jack specifically to explain to them the importance of fulfilling their role whenever John puts them in -- whether it's 10 minutes, 20 minutes or 30 minutes," Lombardi explained. "We wanted to be perfectly clear with them about our expectations."
Lombardi and Tortorella showed them cuts compiled from more than six hours of video on each player -- the good, the bad and even a little ugly. The GM and coach then talked about the players' job descriptions and roles for the tournament, and even described the scouting process they went through to reach that point. But neither Lombardi nor Tortorella had yet to reveal whether either Johnson had actually made the team.
"All signs were pointing in that direction, but we weren't allowing ourselves to get excited until we actually knew," Jack Johnson said. "Finally, when things were wrapping up, Erik flat-out asked them if all this meant we had made the team. Dean Lombardi kind of chuckled and said yes -- and I was finally able to breathe."
Not making the Olympic team in 2014 was a tough pill to swallow for Jack Johnson. After being an overtime goal away from a gold medal in Vancouver in 2010 and settling for silver, he wanted another crack at the Olympics. But that disappointment turned out to be the least of his concerns that year. That fall, he filed for bankruptcy after he discovered his parents had taken out several large, high-rate loans against his future earnings and had defaulted on more than $6 million of debt with several million still due.
"The legal process is still going on, but right now I'm closer to the end of it than the start of it," Jack Johnson said. "Unfortunately with my family, things aren't ideal. But I've started a family of my own and it gives me a lot more perspective on things and a lot more clarity on it."
Over the past year and a half, Jack Johnson has gotten married, had a daughter and found his game again.
"I never gave up on the hope of putting the USA jersey on again," Johnson said. "Coach Tortorella called me last summer and said he'd be watching me, so I knew making this team was a real possibility. I just had to go out there and be myself and not let anything else affect me and just get back to having fun playing hockey again. I think all the positive things that happened for me in a short amount of time this past year helped me do that."
As far as Lombardi is concerned, Jack Johnson is exactly the type of player he wants on this team.
"There's no way we're going to win this thing unless we play hard and are hard to play against," Lombardi said. "We know that's what we're going to get from Jack on every shift, and after going through the scouting process, we knew we wanted him on our blueline making it difficult for the other teams' top lines."
Both Erik, at 6-foot-4 and 232 pounds, and Jack, who is 6-foot-1, 240, bring a big, physical presence to the blueline.
"It was pretty clear to Erik and I -- and I think we were there together because we'll probably play together -- we're going to be out there with a very physical presence," Jack Johnson said. "There will be plenty of guys who can bring the offensive side of the game, but they think we can bring the strong defensive side of the game that might have been lacking before."
Once Lombardi said the magic word that revealed Jack was on the World Cup roster and allowed him to exhale, Johnson knew it was just Step 1 and that there was still more work to be done.
"When he said yes, I flat-out told him, 'I promise you. I won't let you down. Whatever you want -- kill penalties, block shots, change water bottles -- whatever you want, I'll be happy to do it,'" said Johnson, who has worn the USA jersey at two U-18 world championships, two world junior championships, five world championships and one Olympics with a gold, two silver and a bronze medal to show for it.
"I'm not sure there's another player who takes more pride in putting on that USA jersey than Jack," Lombardi said. "It's real. The pride he takes in that jersey is unsurpassed. I think he likes wearing the USA jersey more than his NHL jersey, and I have no doubt he'll do everything he can to help the team win."
For Jack Johnson, this opportunity is more than just another chance to put on that jersey and win a gold medal. It's proof that he can bounce back.
"I was dealing with a lot [in 2014] and I didn't play well enough to make it impossible for them to leave me off the team, and I take full responsibility for that," Johnson said. "I knew my game wasn't at the level it could have been or needed to be, but you have to learn from it and keep pushing forward. When you do that, things always seem to turn around as long as you keep the right frame of mind. This time, I know I earned my way back onto this team."