Friends and former teammates Neal Pionk and Alex Iafallo reminisce about the late Adam Johnson, sharing their favourite memories from on and off the ice.

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Adam Johnson’s Friends Share Their Favourite Memories

#NHL #Hockey

On Saturday former Penguins forward Adam Johnson tragically lost his life in a terrible accident on the ice while playing in the elite ice hockey league in England Adam was just 29 years old I know it’s cliche but it doesn’t seem real doesn’t seem right that there’s a tribute video for our friend I

Agree it’s just doesn’t feel right you know one of the last texts I got from him uh October 26th he said last I checked you were one and three looks like an abysmal start to me pick it up we had kind of that brotherly relationship I always say if he was one

Of your good friends he he’d greet you with a jab or a chirp once he he gets to know you it’s always just banter back and forth banter followed by that infectious smile that he had too so he would he’d give you something and then you’d have that smile and you’d go from

There Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neil pan first met Adam Johnson when they played together in the Minnesota high school Elite Hockey League they would play two years in Sue City of the USHL before both heading off to the University of Minnesota duth Johnson high slot back to

Pano one time he scores he P off broke his stick and he scored anyway it was there they met Alex IA follow one of his best hockey stories I think is when he scored the overtime winner to send us to the Frozen Four now Johnson moving in shot they score Minnesota delute going

Back to the Frozen Four Adam Johnson gets the game winner in the region final that was probably his hockey highlight so pretty cool that was probably one of the biggest games in our college career right pretty cool yeah Al has a good picture of uh of us playing in college celebrating a goal

Was that the Frozen Four yeah it’s just a picture of us uh celebrating a goal Frozen 4 he was flying around that game I would say that was one of his best college games yeah Johnson signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2017 and made his NHL debut in March of

2019 he played 13 NHL games in total scoring his first and only NHL goal against his home State team the Minnesota Wild a big story line coming into tonight’s matchup that being the man who led the Penguins out on the dice for warm-ups Adam Johnson a solo lap in

The NHL tonight just really excited you know it’s been a long time waiting and this is what I’ve been working for my whole life so I’m pumped to be here and I just hope to uh hope to contribute any way I can right wing feet for laford he

Shoots blocker save made the rebound they score Adam Johnson puts it home and Adam Johnson has his first career NHL goal and it’s top shelf baby oh did he Hammer this one happy I got lucky enough for it to bounce right to me and it was

A good shop by laugh for I’ve been hoping to play here for a while and it was it was a lot of fun to be able to do it in front of the family and friends from back home in this home state for [Applause] go nice win boys let’s keep for going

Tomorrow to get the hard hat from Sydney Crosby in the dressing room after a game I can just imagine what was going through his head yeah it’s pretty uh it’s pretty cool to see that that video again I know it’s sad but at the same

Time you got to look at the look at the good things and and remember it I haven’t heard his voice in a while you know I watch videos here and there but um it was good to hear his voice it’s good to watch but got Smiles out of it

Laughs out of it but um at the end of it you start getting chills and kind of emotional um cuz just you’re still in disbelief feel like you should be talking with him like normal you know so it’s nice to hear his voice but at the same time it’s

Pretty sad what do you remember about him saying yep I’m I’m moving to the Nottingham Panthers he wasn’t going to um he was debating on you know starting the real real world and doing a different job or going back to hockey and kind of going back and forth and

Then I remember a text early August saying um I’m going to go so we skated and trained together that August and then he left uh around the start of September on October 28th 2023 while playing in a game in Sheffield England Adam Johnson’s neck was struck by a

Skate tragically the 29-year-old died as a result of his injury so then I want to ask when you first heard about his accident I believe that that you guys were in Montreal yeah I was at uh I was at pregame meal um around 4 4:30 Montreal time and

I got a text from uh Scott perunovich on St Louis he’s from the same Hometown as Adam and he said you hear what happened and I said no and he said go look at what I sent you and I went and looked at my text and all I knew was that there

Was an injury put my phone away at whatever it was 5:00 when I got to the rink and it was on my mind the whole game I I couldn’t think of anything else you know as soon as the game was over Chevy came and grabbed all of us so it

Was your your GM Kevin Chev de off who shared the news with you guys in Montreal y y I think I cried for 3 days straight it was uh the whole flight home and then the next I think the next two or 3 mornings I woke up crying

Because it hurt just going through like pictures at night you know for hours just watch rewatching the same video still can’t believe it there was good tears too right like you had I would watch a video in those three or 4 days and I would start crying laughing

You know I just tears were running down my face and I couldn’t explain it but I had a smile on my face too you know it’s that’s just kind of how we got through it with how tragic it happened and and uh and how it happened and how sudden it

Happened it’s it’s something you don’t prepare for you keep saying there’s no way on the drive down here I said there’s no way I’m doing this interview yeah um but it’s it’s reality even just like going on the ice you know what we talking about it after

It happened a couple weeks like to never go on the eyes with him again just sucks really yeah so then you all went to the the celebration of Adam’s life and the Jets organized for you to be there I wonder if you could just kind of walk us through that yeah I

Was forever grateful right like it’s they ched a plane for us they didn’t have to do that you see his mom his dad his grandma his niece nephew his brother who looks identical to him just another whole wave of emotion and um you try

Your best to to be strong and and to be there for them so that was kind of my mindset going into it yeah I just you know giving a lot of hugs and stuff like that and I don’t know that was a tough tough time for for us and Neil gave a great

Speech I teared up in that one Adam and I would often listen to the Eagles together as it was one of our favorite bands I’ll never forget the late night screaming songs like Peaceful Easy Feeling Seven Bridges Road and Hotel California the only fitting way to end

The speech is with another song title we belt out take it easy Adam I’ll miss you I’ll never forget you and I love you and then the next game was in St Louis and you scored a goal was that a little extra special Yeah um when I would score whenever I scored the last few years he would he would text me wow it’s such a lucky goal shle delays here’s P fires and scores Neil poock with his first of the year after a terrific pass from shley with a heavy heart perhaps that one’s

For his buddy Adam looking down on him you know I speak and then literally the next day score a goal and it’s not like I score every game so it’s no coincidence I feel like that was kind of his way of saying thank you for speaking so it’s the way I saw it

That guards obviously became a big topic of discussion following his death too how do you think that will impact the hockey world it already has there’s a lot of guys wearing them I know some leagues have mandated them there’s a few guys on each team you know you go out

There and they’re wearing them so it’s good I don’t know if anyone wore it uh before this and then now you play every game and there’s two three guys wearing them so it’s had a huge impact we were in junior we were on a 15-hour bus ride home and I was on the

Top bunk and he was on the bottom bunk and I decided to pour a little bit of water on him he didn’t like it he got up and poured the entire bottle of water on my head I think about that all the time yeah what do you think Adam’s Legacy will be

How do you think he would want to be remembered I think he’d want to be remembered you know just what he was he was um a fiance to Ryan an uncle to Grant and BR a brother to Ryan his mom sue his dad Davey and a really a true

Friend uh a loyal friend like I said I think that was his best trait loyalty

31 Comments

  1. Turns out every EIHL player thinks it was an accident. Hockey culture needs a turnaround badly. What explanation can there be for that to be just a "freak accident"? Not to mention Matt Petgrave literally got a standing ovation. It's leagues like those that are poisoing the sport, portraying that u can do something like that and not only get away with it, but be applauded for ur bravery. Makes me wanna barf

  2. Seen this on hockey night and Canada last night… was very nice to see this tribute from his friends.

  3. I miss having friends like these. Perhaps if I had Adam’s loyalty trait, my friends would still be here. A lot of my friends have passed away and I’ve grown apart from many others. Looking back, I think I tried my best to be a good friend. I’m a dad now and my kids are everything to me but sometimes I wish I had a good friend.

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