Former NHL forward Adam Johnson has tragically passed away after suffering a major medical emergency during a game last night with the EIHL’s Nottingham Panthers. Nottingham confirmed his passing this morning after Johnson suffered a cut during a game against the Sheffield Steelers last night. The 29-year-old was attended to by medical personnel as fans were asked to leave the arena after the incident had occurred. A statement from Johnson’s former NHL team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, can be found here.
The unfortunate sequence of events started with a collision at center ice that caused Johnson to suffer an injury to his throat. The players from both teams formed a circle around him before screens were brought onto the ice as paramedics attended to him. This morning the Panthers released an official statement saying:
The Nottingham Panthers are truly devastated to announce that Adam Johnson has tragically passed away following a freak accident at the game in Sheffield last night. The club will dearly miss him and will never forget him. Adam, our number 47, was not only an outstanding ice hockey player but also a great team-mate and an incredible person with his whole life ahead of him.
The full statement is available here.
Johnson was born in Minnesota and was in his first season in the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) after joining the Panthers this offseason. He began playing as a professional in 2017 after spending two years at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where he won an NCHC championship in 2017. He spent the first three years of his pro career with the Penguins organization and did dress in some NHL games with the club, posting a goal and three assists in 13 games spread over two NHL seasons. In his AHL career, Johnson dressed in 257 career AHL games with the Ontario Reign, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He registered 50 career AHL goals and 87 assists.
Former NHLer Matt Cullen told Rob Rossi of The Athletic that Johnson was “An unreal kid, just a great guy. A salt-of-the-earth kind of guy. So humble and a very easy person to be around. He’s one of those guys who just loves the game and being around the rink with the guys.”
PHR joins the entire hockey world in mourning the passing of Adam Johnson. Our condolences to the Johnson family and all of his teammates, friends, and peers.
What a tragic loss. Thoughts and Prayers with his family and loved ones. Rest in peace Adam.
There is video, the opposing player practically reverse-ninja-kicks him in the throat. A bloody trail a foot wide where he went down on the ice along with a truly scary amount of blood streaming down the front of his jersey as he attempts to make it to the bench, giving his jersey a huge vertical crimson stripe. Gruesome.
I don’t really think anyone needs to know more than what was stated in this article… for the sake of Adam and his family this probably isn’t the right thing to say
The way you describe it, that sounds like a murder… Do I have that right?
I just watched it. It looks like it was an attempted body check, but the guy going for the hit was sort of popping out from behind another player at high speeds and I can’t tell if he got clipped and lost his balance or what, but his left leg pops up in the air bent at the knee and hits him right in the neck. The amount of blood is… I’ve never seen that much from a hockey incident not even Malarchuk’s incident comes close. It’s no surprise he didn’t make it… what a freak incident and a tragedy.
The player that hit him immediately reacted in horror. I don’t think it was intentional. You can find the full version if you decide to look for it.
Condolences to Adam’s family and friends. This is a tragic loss. Rest in peace, Adam.
Jesus. Absolutely horrible thing to happen to a player… I remember seeing it live when Rene Bourque had a similar injury, but luckily he recovered.
Hopefully the league takes serious measures to examine how and why this happened, so it can never happen again.
Wear your neck guards everybody. I know the kids don’t want to, but they should. Most leagues require them, but at least in the Chicago area the refs rarely enforce it. It’s up to the parents. Start a trend, make your kid wear their neck guard. And wear one yourself even if you’re the only old man on the ice with one like I am. This isn’t the first time. If your kid doesn’t want to wear it have them Google Teddy Balkind. If that doesn’t work, have your wife Google it. That usually does it.
Agreed. The only actual injury I suffered as a hockey player was playing goal (this being the 70s, long before neck guards were even thought of). I shot my stick out to poke check an oncoming forward, and he slid right up my stick and speared me in the throat. Pure accident, but I had a bad half hour of it. Wish I’d had a neck guard then.
Mentally envisioning this, I am glad I was too poor as a kid to play hockey.
My worst sports injury was in high school football, when a teammate – who was 6’7″ and obese – stepped on my toe with causing it to embed in the toe meat. Been without that toenail since.
A young man lost too soon. Breaks my heart.
Very sad to read. God rest his soul.
Good kid from my beloved Minnesota. Champion at UMD and good guy from anything I’ve seen/read. Tragic.