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From patsy to powerhouse: Winterhawks coach/GM keeps building on success

Kerry Eggers, The Portland Tribune, May 10, 2012

Portland Winterhawks coach-GM Mike Johnston says the best thing he and assistant Travis Green did when they joined the club was to take the time and effort to create an environment for success.

There are a lot of reasons for the Winterhawks' resurgence since hitting rock bottom as the Western Hockey League laughingstock in 2007-08.

None bigger, mind you, than the man who serves as general manager and head coach.

Mike Johnston brought a lot of things to the franchise when he arrived in Portland in November 2008, including instant cred.

Johnston had served nine years as associate coach for the Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings of the NHL. That after six years with Team Canada, serving as head coach the final season.

The even-tempered, level-headed Johnston has been the most instrumental part of a remarkably dramatic swing by a franchise in four years — from worst to first if the Hawks are able to eliminate Edmonton and claim their first WHL championship since 1998.

It took a perfect storm to bring Johnston to Portland, a city he had never visited before taking over a woebegone team early in the 2008-09 season.

Johnston had been let go with Marc Crawford's Kings staff in June 2008. Interviewed by Kings ownership for the head coaching job, he learned in late July he would not be hired for the job.

The next day, he got a call from former NHL head coach Dave King, who was compiling a list of coaching candidates for the prospective new owner of the Winterhawks — a Calgary oil magnate named Bill Gallacher.

In November, Gallacher got the franchise, and Johnston became his general manager and coach. Johnston had been interviewed for three NHL head coaching jobs, but didn't get them. He had offers to be associate or assistant coach with several NHL teams.

"But I wanted to be a head coach again," he says.

And he liked the idea of a dual role as GM and coach.

"I'd been in situations where other people control your destiny," he says. "I wanted to control my own destiny in every way. I wanted to control the draft, the players, the player signings, my staff. I was going to sink or swim on my own. There would be no excuses."

There never have been for Johnston since his days growing up in Nova Scotia, through his playing career as a forward at Acadia (Nova Scotia) and Brandon (Manitoba) universities and professionally in Australia, and through a long coaching career that began at age 23 at the University of Alberta.

After five years as head coach of one of Canada's top programs at the University of New Brunswick, he began his half-dozen years with the Canadian national team, serving as GM and associate coach of the '97 team that won gold at the world championships.

Nine years into his NHL tenure with Vancouver and L.A., he made the career move that turned the Hawks from patsy to powerhouse in the WHL.

Gallacher had one request — that Johnston hire Travis Green, recently retired after a distinguished NHL playing career — as an assistant coach. Johnston and Green had worked together for three years with Team Canada, including the '97 world championship club.

"It was a fabulous fit," Johnston says.

Johnston and Green set about overhauling the entire program.

"The best thing we did was sit back, evaluate and take care of the environment," Johnston says. "I'm a big believer in creating the right environment for success. Those are the things that make your program work."

There was increased focus on the billets — the people who take the players into their homes as pseudo-parents. And on the players' schooling set-up. And on designing an off-ice and summer training program. And on partnering with some of the best medical people in Portland.

"We wanted to make sure we did everything so people felt comfortable with us," Johnston says. "That if you were a parent sending a player to us, you'd be really happy. We didn't have the players at that time, but when we went out recruiting the next May after having the team for six months, people were saying, 'We're hearing things are getting better.'

"Billets, education, medical — that's what Mom wants. Dad's thing is the hockey environment — 'Does my son have a chance to be a pro?' That took some selling. We had only 19 wins my first year. It slowly moved along, and we progressed from there."

Johnston has made shrewd trades and player acquisitions, but mostly he has developed through the draft.

"As easy as it is to get frustrated with a kid at 16, 17, 18 years old, usually when you make a trade, you're getting somebody else's problems," Johnston says. "It's best to deal with the issues you know and work with the guys you have. If they have some downfalls, you address it and push them to be better."

One of his mentors — legendary Canadian college coach Clare Drake — had offered advice that became a key component of Johnston's philosophy.

"Clare told me if you want to have a good program, the older players must set an example," he says. "The way they act, the way they dress, the way they practice, the way they train, the way they take care of teammates off the ice.

"You bring in good players, you're hard on your captains and top players, and when they're 18, 19, 20, they'll set the example for the younger group."

Johnston has become a hallowed figure among both his coaches and players.

"Right away, I knew he'd be a great guy to coach and learn under," Green says. "First and foremost, he is a good person. He is honest, which goes a long way. You look for a coach who isn't going to tell you one thing and do another. Players respect that.

"He has taught me a lot about patience. As a player, the fire is burning and you tend to react on things very quickly. As a coach, you have to take a step back sometimes and not overreact to situations.

"He speaks very well in front of a group — probably better than anyone I've been involved with at any level in delivering a message to a team. He is very articulate and can get his point across very well. That's a real art. And I've seen him develop. He has become a better coach over these four years."

Team President Doug Piper — hired the same week as Johnston — had worked previously in the front office of NHL clubs in Edmonton and Carolina.

"I compare Mike to guys I knew at the NHL level," Piper says. "The reason Mike is so effective, he is as much a teacher as he is a coach. He is not a screamer, not a Bobby Knight type. He gets his point across without doing that. He has this demeanor, if he is displeased, you know it.

"Mike is the central figure that got everybody on board with the program very quickly. The parents, the agents, the scouts, the billets — he displayed an air of confidence you buy into quickly. Plus, he's a real hands-on guy. He doesn't let his GM duties keep him from being right there with the team.

"By the second year here, he had really turned it around. He won over the kids who had been here before, and that's not easy to do. Kids really want to play for him."

The players verify that.

"He is consistent with the way he does things," defenseman Joe Morrow says. "You know what to expect from him. You can really respect a coach like that. He is easy to talk to, and he is an extremely smart man who can mix and match players and get them to where they're the most comfortable."

"He knows what buttons to push on different guys," goalie Mac Carruth says. "He's not going to call you out in front of the guys. He'll take you aside and let you know what you did wrong. We all look up to him. He is the leader in the locker room with how he carries himself in both wins and losses."

"He is the smartest Xs and Os guy, video guy, on-ice guy I've been around in hockey," right wing Ty Rattie says. "I've learned so much from him. My numbers would be nowhere without Mike Johnston. The plays he comes up with are second to none. I can tell you this right now — he'll be in the NHL before you know it."

That's right. This could be Johnston's final run with the Hawks.

"He is one of the guys talked about (as a prospective NHL head coach)," Green says. "He is a guy the NHL has to look at. I'd be shocked if there isn't an NHL (head-coaching) opportunity for Mike Johnston some day."

Johnston, 54, admits it is a goal.

"I would like to be (an NHL) head coach," he says.

But Johnston has gotten a great deal of satisfaction in working with major junior players.

"I enjoy this as much as any job I've ever had," he says. "It's a great environment. You can impact young kids so much, change how they are as people as well as hockey players.

"I had a dream of playing in the NHL. Every kid growing up playing hockey does. If you can help your kids get to that place, that's special. There's nothing more special than to get your kids drafted and signing an NHL contract."

Last summer, Johnston was offered a position as associate coach with a "high-profile" NHL team.

"Toughest call I've had to make," he says. "I never thought I'd turn them down, but I did. I enjoy what I do, and Bill is great owner to work for."

Johnston and his wife of 25 years, Myrna, have embraced the city of Portland. They live in a high-rise condo on the South Waterfront.

"I love it here," he says, "and the response by the city to our team has been super."

Piper signed Johnston to a four-year extension last summer that runs through 2015. Piper would love to keep his GM and coach. At some point — as soon as after this season — Johnston will probably take over an NHL team.

Until then, Winterhawks fans should enjoy watching a master at work.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
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